Safe Return Doubtful

Canadian Literature – NonFiction – Arctic Exploration

I read a lot about the history of Artic exploration, and there is some really good stuff.
John Rae’s story isn’t as interesting as many others, though as a young man he played a key role in the exploration of Northern Canada, specifically the area to the northwest of Hudson Bay, and as a pioneer explorer of the Northwest Passage.

In 1848, at the age of 36, he was chosen as second-in-command to John Richardson on his voyage, one of three, to locate the missing Franklin Expedition, which at this time had been listed as being lost. This turned out to be three voyages over three years, and though Rae found remnants of what were likely to be part of a European ship, probably Franklin’s, they were unsuccessful.

For the reader, McGoogan’s book is another part of the jigsaw in understanding the place of exploration in Edwardian England, and the hysteria that surrounded the Franklin Expedition especially once it was acknowledged as being lost.

John Rae’s life, though not completely dedicated to exploration, he was a surgeon, and in later life ran a shipping company on Great Slave Lake, is fascinating to read about also. The Orkney Islands, where he was born and spent his childhood, played an important role played an important part in his life throughout.

My GoodReads score 3 / 5