![]() ![]() She was eventually contacted by a Captain William Coppin, a wealthy shipbuilder from Londonderry, Ireland. Among Lady Jane’s nearly two hundred journals and two thousand letters are some that describe her dabbling in the paranormal, going to seers and clairvoyants, to connect to her husband. It also took a weird detour into the paranormal, didn’t it? Franklin’s disappearance became what we today call a media circus. The earliest archival footage at National Geographic is from the 1903 Ziegler Expedition, a failed attempt to reach the North Pole. Through all of this extraordinary effort and the help of others, including Charles Dickens, she forces the Admiralty to send out search expeditions. It’s an extraordinary letter coming from a woman who has broken protocol by writing as a citizen from London, not through diplomatic channels. She even wrote to Zachary Taylor, the president of the United States. So we don’t need to worry until at least 1848.” She kept insisting that they search and even began to fund her own expeditions. The Admiralty kept saying, “They have enough food for three years. She would also hold meetings in that apartment, which was known as “the fortress,” where former explorers and experts would roll out maps of the Arctic. She even took an apartment near the Admiralty building in London so she could watch the comings and goings. She takes the Admiralty and various other institutions in her way and simply bowls over them. But when she has to deal with Sir John’s disappearance, she’s far from shy. The descriptions of her as a girl are that she was extremely shy. Back in London, Franklin’s intrepid wife Jane begins a campaign for what you call “the longest, broadest and most expensive search for two lost ships in maritime history.” Tell us about this extraordinary woman-and how she mobilized public opinion. On his way south, he ran into an ice trap-and was never heard of again. But they ran into ice so came south again. The last time the expedition was seen was as they’re entering Lancaster Sound, which is the eastern entrance of what we now know as the Northwest Passage. So his wife Jane lobbied and begged for him to be sent on one last expedition. He was an extraordinarily heroic figure but tarnished by politics. He had almost starved to death on an overland expedition, and became known in the press as “ the man who ate his boots” because he ate his shoe leather to get out of the Arctic alive. This was his fourth Arctic expedition, his third as commander. How do you do that? You go back to where you became a hero, and that is the Arctic. His wife, Lady Jane Franklin, an extraordinary woman, was determined to help him rehabilitate his image and his career. ![]() He had had a terrible time as governor of what was then called Van Diemen’s Land, now Tasmania, where he was politically stabbed in the back and recalled to England by the colonial office, his reputation in tatters. Franklin disappeared in 1848 while searching for the Northwest Passage. Brings energy, wit and humanity to a story that has never ceased to tantalise people since the 1840s.Please be respectful of copyright. Told in a very relaxed and sometimes - as you might expect - very funny Palin style.' David Baddiel, Daily Mail Carefully researched and well-crafted, it brings the story of a ship vividly to life.' Sunday Times The Erebus story is the Arctic epic we've all been waiting for.' Nicholas Crane It's a fascinating story that brings full-bloodedly to life.' Guardian Now available: Michael Palin's North Korea Journals Her fate remained a mystery for over 160 years. On the second, she vanished with her 129-strong crew in the wastes of the Canadian Arctic, along with the HMS Terror. On the first, she ventured further south than any human had ever been. In the early years of Queen Victoria's reign, HMS Erebus undertook two of the most ambitious naval expeditions of all time. THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER: the remarkable true story of the exploration ship featured in The Terror ![]()
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