Fatal Passage

Description

The true story of the remarkable John Rae - Arctic traveller and Hudson's Bay Company doctor - a tale of imperial ambition and high adventure. In 1854 Rae solved the two great Arctic mysteries: the fate of the doomed Franklin expedition and the location of the last navigable link in the Northwest Passage. But Rae was to be denied the recognition he so richly deserved. On returning to London, he faced a campaign of denial and vilification led by two of the most powerful people in Victorian England: Lady Jane Franklin, the widow of the lost Sir John, and Charles Dickens, the most influential writer of the age. With this is story of courage and determination, McGoogan aims to capture the essence of one man's indomitable spirit. It is his redemption of Rae's rightful place in history.

KEN McGOOGAN is a Canadian writer - historian, biographer, novelist and journalist. He is the author of the internationally acclaimed bestseller Fatal Passage about Scottish Arctic adventurer John Rae, which won the Writers' Trust of Canada Drainie-Taylor Biography Prize, the Canadian Authors' Association History Award and the Grant MacEwan Award. It also won a US Christopher Award as a work of artistic excellence that 'affirms the highest values of the human spirit'. The author lives with his family in Toronto, Canada.

In Ken McGoogan's artful telling, John Rae emerges from the shadows to take his place among the most intriguing of the 19th century Arctic explorers. This is delightful reading -- Andrea Barrett, author The Voyage of the Narwhal A riveting story - backed by sold research - that illuminates a fascinating chapter in the annals of Arctic exploration * Wall Street Journal * An overdue book that makes an important contribution to Arctic exploration history and yet remains compulsively readable for the non-specialist * Quill & Quire * A riveting story of courage and determination, high adventure and imperial ambition... Excellent * Historical Novels Review * A tale of ambition and high adventure... a passionate redemption of Rae's rightful place in history * Edinburgh Times *