Published to great reviews in Canada, the US and the UK, Ancient Mariner tells the riveting story of how Samuel Hearne—a sailor at 12, a northern explorer at 24, an admirer of Native peoples—became the first European to reach the Arctic coast of North America. Yet, as Ken McGoogan reveals, Samuel Hearne’s place in the history books has been a subject hotly disputed over the past two centuries. This fascinating saga, a skillful blend of literary detective work and finely imagined narrative, delights and surprises as it restores Hearne’s rightful place in history.

KEN MCGOOGAN is the best-selling author of a dozen books, among them 50 Canadians Who Changed The World, How The Scots Invented Canada, Fatal Passage and Lady Franklin’s Revenge. He has won the Pierre Berton Award for History, the University of British Columbia Medal for Canadian Biography, the Canadian Authors’ Association History Award, the Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize and an American Christopher Award for “a work of artistic excellence that affirms the highest values of the human spirit.” Before turning mainly to books, Ken worked for two decades as a journalist at major dailies in Toronto, Calgary and Montreal. He teaches creative nonfiction writing through the University of Toronto and in the MFA program at King’s College in Halifax. Ken served as chair of the Public Lending Right Commission, has written recently for Canada’s History, Canadian Geographic and Maclean’s, and sails with Adventure Canada as a resource historian. Based in Toronto, he has given talks and presentations across Canada, and in faraway places as different as Edinburgh, Sydney, Stromness, and Hobart. www.kenmcgoogan.com

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