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The Victorian era has endured much hostile press in recent years. Cultural mores have been challenged, essential ideas decried as "social artefacts" and the reputations of heroic idols, nearly universally male, demolished as shams. It's become a novelty to encounter the celebratory resurrection of a forgotten icon. McGoogan relates the life and accomplishments of Scotsman John Rae, who joined a Hudson's Bay Company ship as surgeon, travelled to Canada in 1833 and remained for twelve years - on the first stay. McGoogan has surveyed many of the resources dealing with Arctic exploration, but Rae's own accounts provide the essential framework for this compelling narrative. The book is nearly two stories in one: Rae's ranging explorations along the Canadian Arctic coast, and the mysterious disappearance of the John Franklin expedition. McGoogan keeps this paired account nicely balanced until they merge to determine Rae's future reputation.
John Rae was a departure from the usual explorer of the Victorian age. Instead of heading complex expeditions, he travelled with a small support group. Instead of ships or extensive caravans, he travelled by canoe or small boat, on land using snowshoes. He was extraordinarily hardy, traversing extensive distances, often alone. He adapted many features of Aboriginal life in his travels when "going native" was disdained by most. He kept his associates fed when other British explorers were starving on government rations. He found the route of the elusive Northwest passage and determined the fate of the lost Franklin expedition seeking that route. Later, he turned from Arctic adventures to the survey of a telegraph line site across the Rocky Mountains. Why have we heard so little of him?
According to McGoogan, one individual maintained a steady campaign to reduce Rae's reputation. Jane Franklin, Sir John's quasi-widow [she refused to admit her husband's death for years], irked by the possibility her husband had turned to cannibalism in extremity, actively challenged many of Rae's accomplishments. She fostered Leopold McClintock as the verifier of Sir John's finding of the Northwest Passage. In her zeal, she even managed to secure the aid of no less a figure than Charles Dickens to her cause. McGoogan contends Dickens' virulent racism aided this assault when the novelist asserted the Inuit were consummate liars and the true cannibals. In the event, John Rae stands out as the only explorer of note that failed to achieve knighthood for his achievements.
McGoogan has produced a noteworthy study, done with lively wit and solid research. This book restores John Rae's position as the true finder of the Northwest Passage and as man with few peers. This book can be read by anyone seeking knowledge of the North or as a model of perseverance and sacrifice. Illustrated with photographs and engravings and including a fine bibliography, this is a real treasure to read and possess. [stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
The title of this book is a bit misleading. This is not about a "Fatal Passage". Instead it is the biography of John Rae, a 19th century Arctic explorer. A man who seems to have been truly larger than life. I agree with the other reviewer who refers to him as "super man".
John was born and raised in Orkney and like many of his contemporary Orcadians, found his way to working for the Hudson Bay Company in Northern Canada. He started off as a doctor but distinguishes himself from the start and rises through the ranks. He loves the wild environment and in his free time spends a lot of time snow shoeing and learning hunting and survival skills from the native Inuit.
Eventually he leads a number of expeditions to explore the Arctic. He discovers the last link in the search for the Northwest Passage. He also gets reluctantly involved in the search for the fate of the naval expedition lead by John Franklin in the 1840's. What he found then offended the widow of John Franklin and this powerful lady attempts to destroy the reputation of John Rae back in England. The author of this book alleges that this was the cause of why John Rae, unlike John Franklin and some of the other Arctic explorers, has almost been forgotten by history.
Even with the technology available today, John Rae's travels would be considered remarkable. On top of it all he sounds like a great person.
This book is filled with facts to backup the otherwise unbelievable tale. However it doesn't hinder the flow of the story at all. I think that the author did a truly great job. He was able to draw on the detailed journals that John Rae kept as well as his unpublished autobiography.
I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes biographies, adventure stories and history.
A true hero of the north. What gets me is how people passed years of their lives literally holed up for... Read more
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