Memoirs of Joseph René Bellot…with his Journal of a Voyage in the Polar Seas in Search of Sir John Franklin. [1851-52]

Bellot, Joseph Rene, Lt. Two volumes.(London: Hurst and Blackett, 1855).
  • 1848-59 The Franklin Search.
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
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Though much of this takes place on land, Bellot sailed on the Prince Albert as part of a British expedition searching for Franklin. Bellot died in 1853. The work consists of a memoir of Bellot by Julien Lemer (p. 1-87), an introduction by Bellot (p 88-108, reprinted from the Annales Maritimes), and Bellot’s journal, the remainder, though the running heads get confused.

The People of the Twilight.

Jenness, Diamond. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1959. [Phoenix Books. Preface by Fridtjof Nansen, dated March 4th, 1928. First published New York: Macmillan, 1928].
  • 1913-16 Canadian Arctic Expedition (Led by Stefansson with Captain Bob Bartlett commanding the Karluk).
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
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This version of Jennes’s account of the Stefansson Canadian expedition of 1913 to 1916?? mirrors Dawn of Arctic Alaska but told apparently as a young adult tale. There is no need to repeat passages from that book, but relevant passages can be found on these pages of the Chicago edition: 14, 26, 30, 46, 47, 53, 58, and 62. A few are worth noting here:

Life on the Ocean, Or Thirty-Five Years at Sea, Being the Personal Adventures of the Author.

Paddack, William C. Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press, 1893.
  • Whalemen's Reading
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Biography of a Nantucket/New Bedford whaleman and merchant seaman who shipped for the Pacific aboard the Planter in 1847. Although a short book it has several references to the monotony of sea life. The following are typical and repetitive. (p.143): Most of the time during the past thirty-five days we have had moderate winds, and nothing has occurred to interrupt the usual routine of duty and the monotony of a sea life. (p. 146): As usual in a long course of fair winds and pleasant weather, nothing occurred to interrupt the monotony except for the excitement produced by the anticipation of our seeing dear friends once more, which served as a general topic of conversation in the forecastle and amongst the officers. (p. 219): During the ten following days, nothing of moment transpired to disturb the monotony which is usual on board a passenger steamship. [Paddack lapses towards the end when he says “There is always something to be seen, and life is never monotonous” (p. 236).

An Account of the Voyages Undertaken by the Order of His Present Majesty for Making Discoveeries in the Southern Hemisphere, And Successively Performed by Commodore Byron : Captain Carteret, Captain Wallis : And Captain Cook. Drawn Up from the Journals which were kept by the several Commanders, And from the Papers of Joseph Banks, Esq; by John Hawkesworth.

Hawksworth, John. In Three Volumes. London: W. Straham and T. Cadell, 1773.
  • 1768–79 British Naval Expeditions of Captain James Cook.
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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A very controversial work, Hawksworth being heavily attack by Philip Carteret in particular for distorting the nature, failures, and successes of the Carteret circumnavigation.

Tracing the Connected Narrative: Arctic Exploration in British Print Culture, 1818-1860.

Cavell, Janice. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2008). Studies in Book and Print Culture.
  • Arctic Reading: General
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An important if a bit theoretical approach to telling the Arctic story in the earlier nineteenth century, and especially in their serial publication (as in Dickens e.g.). She compares Arctic exploration narratives, serially reported, with serialized fiction of the period. Main emphasis is on John Franklin, from his earlier land journeys to his disappearance in 1845, and the periodic discoveries of his fate.

Four Years aboard the Whaleship. Embracing Cruises in the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Antarctic Oceans, in the year 1855, ‘6, ‘7, ‘8, ‘9.

Whitecar, William B. Philadelphia: Lippincott; London: Trubner, 1864.
  • 1855-59 US Whaling Voyage aboard Pacific.
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
 Preview 

[From a bookseller’s catalogue on ABEBooks]: Whitecar, an intelligent observer, sailed from New Bedford aboard the Pacific, on a whaling voyage which took him to Antarctic waters, Australia & New Zealand. His narrative gives good details of the whaler's life on ship and ashore from 1855-59, one of the best for the time, including observations & comparisons of whaling equipment and practices. Whitecar includes much on the West Australian coast, visiting the Vasse & Cape Leeuwin a number of times. He spends time in Albany (King Georges Sound), visits Geraldton (Champion Bay), Esperence (the Recherche Archipelago) and the Houtmans Abrolhas. In observing W.A., he comments “I didn't see a glass of spirits drank. ale and beer were however swallowed without regard to quality or quantity.” The majority of the book relates to West Australian waters & anecdotes. A very readable & informative account, one of the best we've read on West Australia. Bookseller Inventory # 8363. [This annotation is partly plagiarized in a Bartfield listing for the same book. Whitecar’s account is quite a charming account of the whaling life, somewhat sanitized for the domestic reader, pointing out the foibles and peccadilloes of sailors on other ships but seeing his ship as something of a model of discipline and benign leadership.]

‘One cannot help but liking them’: Terra Nova meets Fram.

Hooper, Meredith. Polar Record 49 (April 2012) p. 184-191. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0032247411000271.
  • 1910-12 Norwegian National Antarctic Expedition (Amundsen on Fram); 1910-14 British National Antarctic Expedition (Scott on Terra Nova).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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p. 187: Curious eyes ranged over each other's ships. ‘While we are waiting events we have not been by any means idle,’ wrote Priestley on Saturday morning (Priestley: p. 50). Officers and scientists were busy using Terra Nova as a platform for vigorous scientific work for example sounding, hauling the plankton net, taking water samples, and dredging. According to Bruce, ten of Fram's crew including Amundsen lunched on board Terra Nova and ‘were very friendly, but didn't give away much or get much’ (Bruce: 1911c). On a return visit to Fram ‘to have a look round’ according to Browning, Amundsen asked him if there were any spare newspapers on Terra Nova as he had not read any since September. Browning ‘collected all I could get also a few magazines – he was very pleased’ (Browning: 1911). Priestley did not go. Instead, he showed a Norwegian Lieutenant over Terra Nova.

Voyage of Discovery to the Southern Lands.

Péron, François, continued by Louis de Freycinet. Second Edition 1824. Translated from the French by Christine Cornell. Introduction by Anthony J. Brown. [Two volumes, plus Atlas]. (Adelaide, Australia: Friends of the State Library of South Australia, 1824).
  • 1801-03 French Exploring Expedition to South Seas and Terra Australis (Captain Nicolas Baudin aboard Géographe).
  • Global Circumnavigations and Cape Horn Transits.
  • Maritime Reading
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To coin a phrase, this could be called a French semi-circumnavigation, from France and back via the Cape of Good Hope. Originally commanded by Nicolas Baudin who died during the expedition, he was replaced by Louis de Freycinet. Curiously Baudin is never mentioned by name in the book (illustrating Péron’s contempt) and his role was widely regarded by the men as a negative one. These volumes are less an official record of the voyage than Péron’s personal account of his naturalist studies framed by the places which they visited.

Karluk: the Great Untold Story of Arctic Exploration. [1913-1916]

McKinlay, William Laird. Foreword by Magnus Magnusson. New York, St. Martin’s Press, 1976.
  • 1913-16 Canadian Arctic Expedition (Led by Stefansson with Captain Bob Bartlett commanding the Karluk).
  • Arctic Reading: Canada
 Preview 

p. 36, at sea in Karluk: During the day a great deal of time was spent reading in our bunks, since there was not a single comfortable chair on board, except for those in Stefansson’s cabin, which was now shared by Captain Bartlett and Hadley.

At Anchor: A Narrative of Experiences Afloat and Ashore during the Voyage of H.M.S. Challenger from 1872 to 1876.

Wild, John James. London: Marcus Ward, 1878.
  • Maritime Reading
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This is a straightforward and rather innocuous account of the three and a half year voyage, emphasizing flora and fauna as well as buildings throughout their shore visits. Pleasant but anodyne. Wild was the official photographer of the expedition. Wikipedia states in the Wild entry: The ship was equipped with a dark room, enabling development of the photographs taken of the lands and peoples encountered. It is thought that this expedition was the first to include routine photography as well as an official artist .

Antarctic Adventure: Scott’s Northern Party.

Priestley, Raymond E. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1914. [A new edition, with a New Foreword by Sir Vivian Fuchs, was published in London: C. Hurst & co., 1974.].
  • 1910-14 British National Antarctic Expedition (Scott on Terra Nova).
  • Antarctic Reading: Expeditions
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The northern party under V. L. A. Campbell, was forced to winter in the Antarctic when the Terra Nova failed to pick them up. They survived despite being without winter clothing and they eventually crossed 230 miles of sea ice to Cape Evans. Spence 939. Conrad 186: This is gripping reading. The first edition is unfortunately rare, as many copies were destroyed during a fire. [ABEBOOKS]

Sledge: The British Trans-Greenland Expedition 1934.

Lindsay, Martin. London: Cassell, 1935.
  • 1934 British Trans-Greenland Expedition (commanded by Martin Lindsay).
  • Arctic Reading: Great Britain
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An account of the traversal of the Greenland Ice-Cap, between Jakobshaven, near Disco Island on the west coast, and Angmagssalik on the east coast.