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History Expeditions & Discoveries

Arctic Explorers

In Search of the Northwest Passage

by (author) Frances Hern

Publisher
Heritage House Publishing
Initial publish date
Feb 2011
Category
Expeditions & Discoveries
Recommended Age
13
Recommended Grade
8
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781926936130
    Publish Date
    Feb 2011
    List Price
    $7.99
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781554390816
    Publish Date
    Jan 2007
    List Price
    $9.95

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Description

There is no saga in Canadian history as full of hardship, catastrophe and mystery as the search for the Northwest Passage. Since the 15th century, the ice-choked Arctic waterway has been sought and travelled by daring men seeking profit, glory or a chance to test themselves against the merciless North. Frances Hern takes us aboard ships with the explorers whose names are memorialized on modern maps of northern Canada: Martin Frobisher, daring privateer in the service of Elizabeth I; Henry Hudson, a navigator who may have driven his crew to mutiny; John Franklin, whose last voyage became an enduring northern mystery; the talented Orkneyman John Rae, a surgeon and surveyor on the trail of Franklin. Also vividly recounted are the gruelling overland treks of Samuel Hearne; the heroic exploits of Roald Amundsen, leader of the first expedition to traverse the passage; and the incredible voyages of Henry Larsen, captain of the RCMP vessel St. Roch.

About the author

Frances Hern (1951–2015) was born in Birmingham, England, near Tolkien territory. An avid reader and writer, she moved to Canada in 1973 and lived most of her life in Golden, BC. She wrote poetry, non-fiction, and children's fiction, including Engraved: Canadian Stories of World War One; Yip Sang and the First Chinese Canadians; Arctic Explorers: In Search of the Northwest Passage; and Norman Bethune: The Incredible Life and Tragic Death of a Revered Canadian Doctor. Although she didn't enjoy high school history, she came to realize how strongly the past influences the present and aimed to share her knowlege in entertaining works of historical fiction and non-fiction.

Frances Hern's profile page

Librarian Reviews

Arctic Explorers: In Search of the Northwest Passage

Arctic Explorers is a collection of seven essays outlining the careers of arctic explorers Martin Frobisher, Henry Hudson, Samuel Hearne, John Franklin, John Rae, Roald Amundsen and Henry Larsen (Captain of the St. Roch). Though their collective endeavours spanned five hundred years, they are linked in the common purpose of the search for the Northwest Passage. Motivated by profit, fame or scientific discovery, these explorers, variously endowed with daring, obsessive or heroic personalities, made significant contributions to northern exploration and established an historical basis for Canadian Arctic Sovereignty.

Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. BC Books for BC Schools. 2010-2011.