Two newly discovered ships which sank in the Arctic ice 170 years ago may hold clues to the fate of explorer, Captain Francis Crozier, who led the doomed Franklin expedition’s fight for survival. Updated biography with new chapters, maps and photographs.

A GREAT POLAR EXPLORER,
AN ENDURING ARCTIC MYSTERY

The mystery of the doomed Franklin Arctic expedition has captivated people for generations. How did two navy vessels and 129 men simply vanish in the ice? Now, after 170 years, the discovery of the expedition ships in the Canadian seas is revealing new evidence of the biggest disaster in the history of exploration. The sensational finds are shining a light on a major figure in nineteenth-century exploration – Captain Francis Crozier. Crozier, in command after Franklin’s death, led survivors in a desperate bid to escape from the ice and left behind the only written clue to the expedition’s fate.

Discover how a young man from Banbridge in County Down in Ireland came to undertake six gruelling and epic voyages to the world’s most remote and hostile regions – navigating the North West Passage, reaching the North Pole and mapping Antarctica. His polar exploits paved the way for acclaimed explorers like Amundsen, Crean and Shackleton in the twentieth century.

Captain Francis Crozier was a major figure in 19th century Arctic and Antarctic exploration who led the doomed Franklin Expedition’s battle to survive against the odds. It is a compelling story which refuses to be laid to rest and recent discovery of his lost ships above the Arctic Circle gives it a new urgency.

The ships may hold vital clues to how two navy vessels and 129 men disappeared 170 years ago and why Crozier, in command after Franklin’s early death, left the only written clue to the biggest disaster in Polar history.

Drawn from historic records and modern revelations, this is the only comprehensive account of Crozier’s extraordinary life. It is a tale of a great explorer, a lost love affair and an enduring mystery.

Crozier’s epic story began comfortably in Banbridge, Co Down and involved six gruelling expeditions on three of the 19th century’s great endeavours – navigating the North West Passage, reaching the North Pole and mapping Antarctica. But it ended in disaster.