Graves of Ice
Page 12
Image 8: Canada in 1845. The area shown as inset appears below.
Image 9: The possible route of the Franklin Expedition, based on findings of several search expeditions as well as recorded Inuit testimony. Peel Sound is called Lady Jane Franklin Strait in the story.
Credits
Cover cameo (detail): XAM 79070 Crown Prince Rudolf, 1873 (oil on wood) Lenbach, Franz Seraph von (1836-1904) / Wien Museum Karlsplatz, Vienna, Austria / The Bridgeman Art Library.
Cover Scene (detail): HMS Erebus in the Ice, © Royal Museums Greenwich, London, BHC3325.
Journal Details: journal © Valentin Agapov/Shutterstock; belly band © ranplett/istockphoto; back cover label © Thomas Bethge/Shutterstock.
Image 1: Commander James Fitzjames, © Royal Museums Greenwich, London, 9191B.
Image 2: They forged the last links with their lives, © Royal Museums Greenwich, London, BHC1273.
Image 3: Boat plank found near Payer Point, King William Island, NU, © Tom Gross.
Image 4: Message found by the McClintock Expedition near Point Victory, © Royal Museums Greenwich, London, D2184.
Image 5: Gore Point Cairn found in Collinson Inlet, NU, © Tom Gross.
Image 6: Skull found near Booth Point, King William Island, NU, © Tom Gross.
Image 7: Relics of the Franklin Expedition, Anonyme – Anonymous, © McCord Museum, M993X.5.1349.2.
Images 8 and 9: Maps by Paul Heersink/Paperglyphs.
The publisher wishes to thank Janice Weaver for her detailed checking of the facts, and Dr. Russell Potter, editor of Arctic Book Review, for sharing his vast expertise about the Franklin expeditions.
Author’s Note
The names used in Graves of Ice are those of actual crew members on the expedition, although the old sailor Bill is a composite. I have kept to the historical record as closely as possible, but interpreted the known facts in the service of the story. For example, I chose to place the exploration of Wellington Channel in 1846 rather than 1845, which is the common view. The information we have can be interpreted that way and seems to make more sense.
I have seen many of the artifacts brought back by the search expeditions and I have held the Victory Point note. I have visited Lieutenant Irving’s grave in Edinburgh and the memorial in Greenwich that contains the remains of Harry Goodsir.
The date given in the text for George’s birthday (September 5, 1827) is accurate from family records. This would give his age as 17 when the ships sailed in May 1845, yet he is listed in the Navy muster books as being 18. In fact, three of the four cabin boys are listed as being 18 and the fourth as being 19. This is strangely old for boys in the Navy and seems to contradict the evidence of skeletal remains found in 1993 on King William Island, which belonged to someone who was probably only 14 when the ships sailed. Perhaps some lied about their age.
My interest in the Franklin Expedition was originally triggered by reading the journal fragment that James Fitzjames sent home from Greenland. I liked him and would very much have enjoyed a conversation over a glass of rum punch. As an homage, I attempted to recreate the lost journal he kept, as he might have written it. This was published as a novel for adults, North with Franklin: The Lost Journals of James Fitzjames.
There are many gaps in the Franklin story into which a novelist can insert his imagination in order to create a plausible tale. I hope those gaps are never closed.
Acknowledgements
A small but dedicated cadre of Franklin enthusiasts have contributed, sometimes without knowing it, to both the historical accuracy and my imaginative fictionalization in Graves of Ice.
Russell Potter probably has as broad a knowledge and understanding of Franklin’s expedition and its cultural and historical setting as anyone alive. His blog and our e-mailed conversations have been a great help in crafting my tale, as were his comments as historical consultant on the finished document.
William Battersby has researched James Fitzjames’s early life and uncovered his true parentage. One afternoon, we sat outside the inn where Sir John and Lady Jane stayed, and speculated which window she had looked out of as her husband sailed into history.
Tom Gross has visited and studied King William Island every summer since the early 1990s, and has probably traversed as much of that land as any European since Franklin’s men. Conversations with Tom, as well as seeing his photographs — some of which he generously allowed me to reproduce here — gave me a sense of why King William Island is not a place you would want to spend a couple of winters.
Tom Swailes, whose great-great-grandmother was George’s younger sister, Ellen, kindly gave me permission to use his family research in building George’s background.
Dr. Owen Beattie brought Torrington, Hartnell and Braine back to the light of day and allowed us to look on the actual faces of three of Franklin’s men.
David Woodman immersed himself in the Inuit testimony collected by Charles Francis Hall and opened up many new avenues of imagination.
Relics from Franklin and his men are on display at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge and the Royal Scottish Museum in Edinburgh. The archives of these institutes also contain many letters and documents written by Franklin and his men.
Of course, this novel would not be near as good without the help of the team at Scholastic. In particular, my editor, Sandy Bogart Johnston, tidied up my bad writing habits, reminded me of the reader’s perspective and nudged me back to the story when I became sidetracked into some obscure corner of Franklin lore. Janice Weaver did so much research as fact checker that she now qualifies to join the dedicated Franklin brotherhood.
Finally, thanks to my wife, Jenifer, who waited patiently while I visited George’s Arctic, even when I was sitting at the dining-room table.
Other books in the I AM CANADA series
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Blood and Iron
Building the Railway
Paul Yee
Shot at Dawn
World War I
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Deadly Voyage
RMS Titanic
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Storm the Fortress
The Siege of Quebec
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Fire in the Sky
World War I
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For more information please see the I AM CANADA website: www.scholastic.ca/iamcanada
While the events described and some of the characters in this book may be based on actual historical events and real people, George Chambers is a fictional character created by the author, and his journal is a work of fiction.
Copyright © 2014 by John Wilson. All rights reserved.
A Dear Canada Book. Published by Scholastic Canada Ltd. SCHOLASTIC and I AM CANADA and logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
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Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Wilson, John (John Alexander), 1951-, author
Graves of ice : the lost Franklin expedition / by John Wilson.
(I am Canada)
Issued in print and electronic formats.
ISBN 978-1-4431-0794-5 (bound).--ISBN 978-1-4431-2896-4 (html)
1. Franklin, John, Sir, 1786-1847--Juvenile fiction. 2. Northwest Passage--Juvenile fiction. 3. Arctic regions--Discovery and exploration--Juvenile fiction. I. Title. II. Series: I am Canada
PS8595.I5834G74 2014 jC813’.54 C2013-905342-5
C2013-905434-3
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First eBook edition: January 2014