In May 1845 Sir John Franklin sailed westward from England in search of the Northwest Passage and was never seen again. Some thirty-five years later, Heinrich Klutschak of Prague, artist and surveyor on a small expedition led by Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka of the 3rd US Cavalry Regiment, stumbled upon the grisly remains at Starvation Cove of the last survivors among Franklin's men.

Overland to Starvation Cove is the first English translation of Klutschak's account. A significant contribution to Canadian exploration history, it is also an important anthropological document, providing some of the earliest reliable descriptions of the Aivilingmiut, the Utkuhikhalingmiut, and the Netsilingmiut. But above all, it is a fascinating story of arctic adventure.

Heinrich W. Klutschak (1848-1890) was an Austrian artist who accompanied the American sealing schooner Flying Fish to South Georgia in 1877–78 and published a narrative of his activities with a sketch map in 1881.

Heinrich Klutschak's profile page

William Barr specializes in geomorphology and has, for the past thirty years, focused his research on the history of Arctic exploration. He has published fourteen books, including translations from German, French, and Russian, and more than a hundred articles. He is author of From Barrow to Boothia: The Arctic Journal of Chief Factor Peter Warren Dease 1836-1839.

William Barr's profile page

'A fascinating saga.'

Canadian Geographic

'Always interesting, often exciting, and sometimes amusing ... a delight to read.'

Polar Record

'Undoubtedly one of the best of the hundreds of books which have been written about the fate of Franklin.'

Ottawa Citizen