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This series includes accounts, by eye-witnesses and contemporaries, of early expeditions to the Arctic and the Antarctic. Huge resources were invested in such endeavours, particularly the search for the North-West Passage, which, if successful, promised enormous strategic and commercial rewards. Cartographers and scientists travelled with many of the expeditions, and their work made important contributions to earth sciences, climatology, botany and zoology. They also brought back anthropological information about the indigenous peoples of the Arctic region and the southern fringes of the American continent. The series further includes dramatic and poignant accounts of the harsh realities of working in extreme conditions and utter isolation in bygone centuries.

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202 results in Cambridge Library Collection - Polar Exploration

Page 2 of 11

The Frozen Zone and its Explorers
  • A Comprehensive Record of Voyages, Travels, Discoveries, Adventures and Whale-Fishing in the Arctic Regions for One Thousand Years
  • Edited by Alexander Hyde, A. C. Baldwin, W. L. Gage
  • Published online:
    05 January 2015
    Print publication:
    17 July 2014
    First published in:
    1874
  • This account by three American authors of one thousand years of exploration in the Arctic regions, culminating in the voyage and loss of the USS Polaris in 1872, was published in 1874. The work, which is derived from many earlier published accounts, begins with a short and highly sentimental biography of the famous American explorer Elisha Kane (whose own works are reissued in this series). It continues with the geography of the Arctic regions, and the voyages of the Vikings and early modern explorers, describing the activities of the whaling fleets as well as the oceanographic and scientific researches of the naval expeditions from many countries seeking the North-West Passage. This is a useful and readable synthesis, which ends with a stirring appeal to the British Admiralty to resume the work of polar exploration which had gone into decline after the end of the official search for Sir John Franklin.

Narrative of a Pedestrian Journey through Russia and Siberian Tartary
  • From the Frontiers of China to the Frozen Sea and Kamtchatka
  • John Dundas Cochrane
  • Published online:
    05 January 2015
    Print publication:
    06 November 2014
  • John Dundas Cochrane (1780–1825) was destined for the sea from an early age, but is best remembered as 'the Pedestrian Traveller'. At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, he set out on a six-year tour of France, Spain and Portugal on foot. When in 1820 the Admiralty turned down his offer to explore the river Niger, he decided instead to walk round the world via Russia, Siberia and North America. On his arrival in St Petersburg, the Russian government gave him money to continue his journey using sledges and canoes where necessary, but he abandoned it in Kamchatka, marrying a local woman and returning with her to England. This account of his travels was published in 1824 and was immediately popular, going into several editions. By no means a scientific survey, it is full of interesting anecdotes and observations about a then unknown and mysterious area of the world.

The Life of Sir Albert Hastings Markham
  • M. E. Markham, F. A. Markham
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    08 May 2014
    First published in:
    1927
  • This biography of the naval officer and explorer Sir Albert Hastings Markham (1841–1918) was published in 1927 by two relatives (both professional authors), using the detailed journals which he kept from 1862. Markham was the cousin of Sir Clements Markham, the historian and geographer, and was greatly influenced by him. Having volunteered for Arctic service, he was rejected by the Admiralty, but took a period of leave in which he went to Baffin Bay as second mate on a whaler. (His account of this voyage, and several other works, are also reissued in this series.) Though best remembered for his Arctic exploration, Markham was involved in active service in China, the Mediterranean and Australian waters, and in the training of naval recruits. He continued in the Royal Navy until 1906, and in his retirement continued to encourage polar exploration, serving for many years on the Council of the Royal Geographical Society.

Journal of a Voyage of Discovery to the Arctic Regions in His Majesty's Ships Hecla and Griper, in the Years 1819 and 1820
  • Alexander Fisher
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
  • Alexander Fisher (d.1838), ship's surgeon on the Arctic exploration ship H.M.S. Hecla, was the probable author of the anonymous 1819 Journal of a Voyage of Discovery to the Arctic Regions, also reissued in this series. The voyage of the Hecla and Griper began in 1819, and Fisher's account was published in 1821, going rapidly into further editions (of which this reissue is the third). The intention of the expedition, under William Edward Parry, was to find the North-West Passage. It was unsuccessful in this respect (an account by Captain G. F. Lyon of Parry's expedition of 1821–3 is also available in this series), but Fisher's detailed and lively account claims that the existence of the passage has been so far proved that it cannot be doubted. He describes the people and wildlife seen during the voyage, as well as providing technical details of latitude, weather and currents.

The Voyage of the Discovery
  • Volume 2
  • Robert F. Scott
  • Illustrated by E. A. Wilson
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    31 July 2014
    First published in:
    1905
  • At the outset of the twentieth century, Antarctica was scarcely explored or understood. Penetrating the pack ice in the purpose-built Discovery, the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901–4) established a base in McMurdo Sound, enabling scientists and sledging parties to significantly push back the boundaries of the unknown. Published in 1905, this acclaimed two-volume work by the naval officer and expedition leader Robert Falcon Scott (1868–1912) recounts the trials, errors and achievements of an undertaking which laid the foundations for future research and Scott's later journey to the South Pole. The work is greatly enhanced by many photographs as well as illustrations by the doctor, zoologist and artist Edward A. Wilson (1872–1912). Volume 2 opens with the sledging journey made by Scott, Wilson and Ernest Shackleton which reached an unprecedented southern latitude. A second polar winter and further sledging exploits are also described. The appendices contain geological and zoological findings.

Memorials of the Sea
  • With 'The Franklin Expedition'
  • William Scoresby
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    17 July 2014
    First published in:
    1835
  • Son of an Arctic whaler, William Scoresby (1789–1857) made the first of many voyages to northern latitudes when he was just ten years old. Later a scientist and clergyman, he wrote on a wide range of topics, and his observations on the Arctic prompted further exploration of the region. The two works reissued here together draw on his experience of seafaring in difficult conditions. First published in 1835, Memorials of the Sea is coloured by Scoresby's belief in divine providence. He discusses the observance of the Sabbath at sea, and considers the Mary Russell murders of 1828, where a ship's captain killed his crew. Scoresby interviewed the perpetrator himself and draws his own conclusions as to the meaning of the incident. The second work included in this reissue is The Franklin Expedition (1850), drawing together considerations relating to the fate and whereabouts of the missing explorers.

Reflections on the Mysterious Fate of Sir John Franklin
  • James Parsons
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    17 July 2014
    First published in:
    1857
  • The disappearance of Sir John Franklin's Arctic expedition of 1845 led to many rescue attempts, some by the British government and some by private individuals, as well as a large number of works recounting these expeditions and reflecting on the mystery. Little is known about the author of this 1857 work, James Parsons. He begins this dramatic account by noting that the disappearance of a large and well-equipped party is almost unprecedented in the Arctic: nothing certain was known about Franklin's fate twelve years after the last recorded sighting. Parsons' speculations derive from a knowledge of naval practice, and familiarity with the seas and climate of the Arctic region and the records of earlier expeditions. He offers practical suggestions about a new attempt using steam-boats, but knows that this will be to find out what actually happened, because there could now be no possibility of finding survivors.

On the Polar Star in the Arctic Sea
  • Volume 2
  • Luigi Amedeo di Savoia
  • Translated by William Le Queux
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
    First published in:
    1903
  • Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, a grandson of King Vittorio Emanuele II of Italy, was well known as a mountaineer and traveller when, in 1899, he organised an expedition to the Arctic, obtaining a steam whaling ship in Oslo which he renamed the Stella Polare. His ambition was to reach the highest possible latitude (and possibly the North Pole itself) by careful logistical arrangements, wintering on the ice in Franz Josef Land and using dog-sledges to travel further north. He also intended a scientific survey of the area in which the team passed the winter. His account of the expedition was published in Italian in 1902 and this two-volume English translation by William Le Queux (better known as the author of sensationalist spy and crime novels) appeared in 1903. Volume 2 gives detailed accounts of the two sledge journeys undertaken by Commander Cagni and Dr Cavalli Molinelli.

Voyages of Discovery in the Arctic and Antarctic Seas, and round the World
  • Being Personal Narratives of Attempts to Reach the North and South Poles
  • Volume 1
  • Robert McCormick
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    08 May 2014
    First published in:
    1884
  • Published in 1884 and illustrated with over 100 of his own drawings and maps, this two-volume work by the doctor and naturalist Robert McCormick (1800–90) provides an account of his voyages in the Arctic with William Parry and in the Antarctic with James Clark Ross, noting also his part in the search for Sir John Franklin. Incorporating a very detailed autobiography, McCormick's work also provides many details relating to natural history and geology. Volume 1 is mainly devoted to his Antarctic voyage (1839–43), during which he also visited St Helena, the Kerguelen Islands, Australia, New Zealand, the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego. During three attempts to reach the South Pole the expedition explored the Ross Sea, described the ice barrier, and raised the British flag to claim possession. The volume ends with the abortive attempt in 1827 to reach the North Pole via Spitsbergen.

Letters Written during the Late Voyage of Discovery in the Western Arctic Sea
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    17 July 2014
    First published in:
    1821
  • Sir Edward Parry (1790–1855) wrote accounts of his three Arctic expeditions, which have also been reissued in this series. This book takes the form of letters written to a sibling by an anonymous member of the crew on Parry's 1819–20 voyage. It was brought out in 1821 by the enterprising publisher Richard Phillips ahead of any other narrative, as all accounts and journals had first to be handed to the Admiralty Board for the extraction of any important details. It seems likely that the work, which is carefully constructed and elegant in style, was elaborated either from notes or from a genuine series of letters, to get round the restriction on publication. This is a fascinating narrative, full of striking details, such as entertainments on board to help morale, the reappearance of the sun at the end of the Arctic winter, and the sight of the aurora borealis.

Arctic Miscellanies
  • A Souvenir of the Late Polar Search
  • Edited by James John Louis Donnet
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    28 August 2014
  • In 1850, a small squadron of British naval vessels, under the command of Horatio Austin, sought to locate the missing Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin. The ships were trapped in ice by September 1850 and the men were forced to endure the forbidding Arctic winter, finally returning to England in October 1851. This book, published in 1852 and reissued here in the second edition that quickly followed the first, is a collection of articles which appeared in the Aurora Borealis, a newspaper edited by the surgeon James John Louis Donnet (1816–1905) aboard HMS Assistance. It features contributions from the likes of Sir John Ross, Leopold McClintock, fellow officers and several crew members. Despite the serious nature of the mission and the difficulties of the Arctic conditions, the contributions are often light-hearted, making this work a colourful reflection of life on a polar expedition.

The North West Passage
  • Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship Gjøa 1903–1907
  • Volume 2
  • Roald Amundsen, Godfred Hansen
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
    First published in:
    1908
  • From an early age Roald Amundsen (1872–1928) was determined to be an explorer. Having gained valuable experience on the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1897–9), he resolved to conquer the North-West Passage. After three years, using a small fishing vessel, the Gjøa, and only six crew, Amundsen succeeded in reaching Nome, Alaska. First published in Norwegian in 1907, and reissued here in its 1908 English translation, this two-volume account is copiously illustrated with photographs. Volume 2 begins with details of Inuit practices, including the building of snow houses, fishing, and the making of clothes. The navigation to Herschel Island, where the men spent a third winter among whaling vessels, is then recounted. One of the crew died from illness before the Gjøa reached Nome in August 1906. This volume contains a lengthy supplement by Godfred Hansen, describing the sledge journeys to map the coast of Victoria Island, and a detailed index to both volumes.

The North-West Passage and the Plans for the Search for Sir John Franklin
  • With a Sequel to 'The North-West Passage and the Plans for the Search for Sir John Franklin'
  • John Brown
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
    First published in:
    1858
  • When John Brown (1797–1861) developed a defect in his eyesight, he could no longer embark on extended voyages for the East India Company. After making a fortune selling gold and diamonds, he cultivated his geographical interests, and was elected to the Royal Geographical Society in 1837. Brown was especially interested in the Arctic, and he became concerned about the missing Franklin expedition to find the North-West Passage. In this substantial work, first published in 1858 and reissued here in one volume with its 1860 sequel, Brown provides a detailed account of previous polar expeditions before turning to the efforts to find Franklin and his men. The sequel is devoted to the 1857–9 search expedition arranged by Lady Franklin and led by Leopold McClintock. A number of other works on Franklin's last expedition and the subsequent searches have also been reissued in this series.

The Threshold of the Unknown Region
  • Clements Robert Markham
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
  • An eminent geographer, Clements Markham (1830–1916) had searched for Sir John Franklin in the Arctic as a young man in the Royal Navy. This stimulated his lifelong passion for the polar regions. Published in 1873, this historical review of Arctic exploration was based on extensive research at the Royal Geographical Society, of which Markham was then secretary and later president. The chapters include coverage of early explorers from the sixteenth century, the voyages of Barents and Hudson, Dutch and English whaling voyages around Spitsbergen, exploration of Greenland's east coast, expeditions into Baffin Bay and Smith Sound, Russian discoveries, and possibilities for scientific progress. A discussion of the best route for future British exploration is provided, with an appendix setting out the case for the expedition of 1875–6. Illustrated with a number of maps, Markham's book keenly sought to stimulate further polar exploration by his countrymen.

New Land
  • Four Years in the Arctic Regions
  • Volume 1
  • Otto Neumann Sverdrup
  • Translated by Ethel Harriet Hearn
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
    First published in:
    1904
  • This well-illustrated account of polar exploration was originally published in Norway in 1903, and in this two-volume English translation in 1904. It tells the story of the four years spent by Otto Sverdrup (1854–1930) and his crew in surveying and charting the seas and coastlines of the Arctic. Sverdrup had qualified as a ship's master when he first met Fridtjof Nansen, whose Greenland expedition of 1888 he accompanied. He advised on the construction of Nansen's wooden ship, the Fram, and became its master in 1895. Both with Nansen and under his own leadership, he undertook many expeditions. In June 1898, he took the Fram and a crew including several scientists to Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic, where they overwintered for four years. Volume 1 describes the life and work of the first two years, including extensive trips away from the Fram, both on land and on the ice.

A Narrative of Arctic Discovery, from the Earliest Period to the Present Time
  • With the Details of the Measures Adopted by Her Majesty's Government for the Relief of the Expedition under Sir John Franklin
  • John J. Shillinglaw
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
    First published in:
    1850
  • This 1850 account of the history of Arctic exploration was dedicated to Lady Franklin, whose energy in spurring on expeditions in search of her husband and his two ships, by then missing for five years, was widely admired. John Shillinglaw (d.1862), a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, was able both to give a historical perspective and to describe the most recent efforts being made to discover Franklin's fate. The narrative begins with the Viking exploration and settlement of Iceland and Greenland, and possible landings in North America. While focusing on British voyages in more recent history, Shillinglaw also includes Russian and Danish activities, as well as the founding of trading firms like the Hudson's Bay Company. But the greater part of the book describes, in considerable detail, voyages from the late eighteenth century up to 1850, and offers a useful synthesis of the first-hand accounts published in this period.

Through Siberia, the Land of the Future
  • Fridtjof Nansen
  • Translated by Arthur G. Chater
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    17 April 2014
    First published in:
    1914
  • In August 1913, the explorer and scientist Fridtjof Nansen (1861–1930), who later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work, set off from Norway to find a sea route across the north of the Eurasian continent. This 'north-east passage' had been the goal of explorers since the sixteenth century, but Nansen's object, as he puts it, was 'to open up a regular trade connexion with the interior of Siberia, via the Kara Sea and the mouth of the Yenisei'. By the time the book was published in English translation in 1914, the First World War had begun, and the need for ways to keep supplies and troops moving between Russia and her western allies made it even more timely. Nansen's delightfully written account of 'the land of the future' remains of value to anyone seeking to find out more about the geography, resources, and native peoples of Siberia.

Voyage of the Challenger: The Atlantic
  • A Preliminary Account of the General Results of the Exploring Voyage of HMS Challenger during the Year 1873 and the Early Part of the Year 1876
  • Volume 2
  • Charles Wyville Thomson
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
  • In 1871 the British government agreed to support an expedition to collect physical and chemical data and biological specimens from the world's oceans. Led by Charles Wyville Thomson (1830–82), the expedition used HMS Challenger, refitted with laboratories. They sailed nearly 70,000 nautical miles around the world, took soundings and water samples at hundreds of stops along the way, and discovered more than 4,000 new marine species. Noted for the discovery of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Pacific's deepest trench, the expedition laid the foundations for modern oceanography. This acclaimed two-volume account, first published in 1877, summarises the major discoveries for the Atlantic legs of this pioneering voyage. Illustrated with plates and woodcuts, Volume 2 describes the voyage from the Caribbean via Madeira to the coast of Brazil, then to South Africa. The voyage home in 1876 from the Strait of Magellan is also covered. A final chapter summarises the principal conclusions.

Narrative of the Second Arctic Expedition Made by Charles F. Hall
  • His Voyage to Repulse Bay, Sledge Journeys to the Straits of Fury and Hecla and to King William's Land, and Residence among the Eskimos during the Years 1864–69
  • Charles Francis Hall
  • Edited by J. E. Nourse
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
    First published in:
    1879
  • The American explorer Charles Francis Hall (1821–71) made two voyages to the Arctic to determine the fate of Sir John Franklin's lost expedition. While there, he lived with Inuit, learning their language and adopting their way of life. Edited after his death and published in 1879, this account of his second expedition, from 1864 to 1869, brings the conditions he endured vividly to life. Two punishing sledge journeys to King William Island revealed evidence of Franklin's encampment there, but also the stark fact that rumours of survivors were unfounded. The work, which contains a number of fine engravings and maps, also includes appendices presenting Hall's detailed scientific observations and notes of his conversations with the Inuit, which disclosed evidence of cannibalism among Franklin's crew. Based on his earlier expedition, Hall's Life with the Esquimaux (1864) is also reissued in this series.

The North West Passage
  • Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship Gjøa 1903–1907
  • Volume 1
  • Roald Amundsen
  • Published online:
    18 December 2014
    Print publication:
    22 May 2014
    First published in:
    1908
  • From an early age Roald Amundsen (1872–1928) was determined to be an explorer. Having gained valuable experience on the Belgian Antarctic Expedition (1897–9), he resolved to conquer the North-West Passage. After three years, using a small fishing vessel, the Gjøa, and only six crew, Amundsen succeeded in reaching Nome, Alaska. First published in Norwegian in 1907, and reissued here in its 1908 English translation, this two-volume account is copiously illustrated with photographs. Volume 1 describes how the ship was chosen and its departure from Norway in June 1903. The men spent two winters on King William Island, learning much about survival from the local Inuit. The observatory they established collected magnetic data for almost two years as well as meteorological data, both of which added greatly to existing Arctic knowledge. Sledge journeys ascertained that the position of the North Magnetic Pole had changed little for more than seventy years.

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