tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post5171909294161706447..comments2024-03-18T18:05:25.821-07:00Comments on VISIONS OF THE NORTH: Franklin FictionsRussell Potterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-53010496876059273862013-12-24T06:23:53.131-08:002013-12-24T06:23:53.131-08:00Sorry for 'excavating' this old post, but ...Sorry for 'excavating' this old post, but there is another little work of fiction about the expedition: <br />Martin Selber "... und das Eis bleibt stumm" (I don't know if an english translation exists, but the title means something like "... and the ice remains silent").<br />The book was released 1955 in East (!) Berlin and was clearly intended for young readers. Because of the place and time it was written there is a lot of (more or less subtle) criticism of capitalism, colonialism and the british society included. But again, it's mainly a story of adventure for adolescents.<br />Franklin is depicted as ignorant Admiral (!), who leads the expedition into disaster and kills himself when he realizes that everything is lost. Crozier leads the men south and is the last one dying after losing one man after another on the horrible march. The author claims to have included all of the then up-to-date historical evidence and worked his fiction around it. Nice to read if you are a fourteen-year-old interested in great adventures :) It fundamentally shaped my imagination about the expedition from those teenage days onwards.<br />Best regards from Germany & Merry Christmas!Peter Klughttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13868523093310029287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-58732753369783729092011-02-03T07:30:38.878-08:002011-02-03T07:30:38.878-08:00Jenny, thanks for your kind words!
I have a copy ...Jenny, thanks for your kind words!<br /><br />I have a copy of <i>Island of the Lost</i>, but I have to confess I gave it only a cursory glance when, some eight or nine years ago, I purchased it. As I recall, I initially thought it was a work of nonfiction, then fiction -- the dustwrapper didn't exactly make it clear -- and noticed that it had an interesting map of King William Island ... I'll have a fresh look and get back to you as soon as I can ...Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-74720984422185188222011-01-30T09:40:57.962-08:002011-01-30T09:40:57.962-08:00Is the Island of the Lost worth seeking out and re...Is the Island of the Lost worth seeking out and reading? There's a copy in my library but I'm a little pressed on time these days. Thanks for this list; I found the Arctic Book Review invaluable when I first started reading up on the expedition but I particularly appreciate this compilation of fiction.Jennyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02960783024632783814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-25500169952635039312010-11-11T06:25:02.380-08:002010-11-11T06:25:02.380-08:00Well, I've just ordered a copy of "On the...Well, I've just ordered a copy of "On the Proper Use of Stars" from Amazon.ca and look forward to reading and enjoying it!David Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17034891361926618042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-70021844457646020052010-10-24T16:48:36.784-07:002010-10-24T16:48:36.784-07:00Simmons lists his sources (in the hardcover editio...Simmons lists his sources (in the hardcover edition, at least) -- he started out with "Ice Blink," "Frozen in Time," and Berton's "Arctic Grail" -- and from there read fairly widely in primary sources and on the internet. It's too bad that Cookman, and not Cyriax, seems to have been his primarly guide on the particulars of the expedition. Somehow, he doesn't seem to have used my site at all, though he cites Wayne Davidson's sirjohnfranklin.com (a fascinating but sometimes erratic source). Yet when all is considered, good historical fiction is much more than the 'sum of its parts' -- sometimes, just the bare outlines are what stimulate the writer's best work.Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-64325672652106927742010-10-17T22:35:32.444-07:002010-10-17T22:35:32.444-07:00I really enjoyed 'The Terror'. I would l...I really enjoyed 'The Terror'. I would love to see it made into a quality film someday.<br /><br />I'm still amazed at the job Dan Simmons did in bringing these men to life in the pages of his book though I can't say for sure how accurate his depictions were. I/m curious about the amount research he did and where he did it.IanMchttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07656167156349417326noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-22642469410770769782010-10-15T08:21:43.418-07:002010-10-15T08:21:43.418-07:00Thanks for the note on Simmons' book -- not su...Thanks for the note on Simmons' book -- not sure I'm familiar wih a "tunbaaq" but perhaps it's a variation on "tornaq," an Inuit shaman's "helping spirit." Whatever the name, the idea of a deadly supernatural spirit of some kind has been a recurring feature of Franklin fiction.Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-49859324732009554132010-10-15T07:03:44.702-07:002010-10-15T07:03:44.702-07:00Simmons' The Terror's northern monster is ...Simmons' The Terror's northern monster is actually a tunbaaq, I believe. His bite doesn't transfer a appetite for human flesh, at least not in that novel. He sucked the souls out of his victims, then either ate them or arranged parts of their bodies to disturb the survivors. Also, I believe Franklin was not the first to die, he dies in the bear blind that they set up to kill the monster, who was already troubling them. I personally love Simmons' book. It was the first I had ever heard of the Franklin mystery, so maybe I am partial to it, but still, I think it's a great read!Laura Annhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13741177811506718222noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-16388671147391088162010-10-14T05:52:47.776-07:002010-10-14T05:52:47.776-07:00Thanks for the tip on the Helen Humphreys story --...Thanks for the tip on the Helen Humphreys story -- that one was certainly new to me!Russell Potterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11023313195827310776noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-57452071509315347842010-10-13T19:12:30.112-07:002010-10-13T19:12:30.112-07:00I see that these are full-length novels, but I can...I see that these are full-length novels, but I can think of two short stories on Franklin. Helen Humphreys's "Franklin's Library" (available here: http://www.walrusmagazine.com/articles/2005.07-fiction-helen-humphreys/) and Margaret Atwood's "Age of Lead."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-41157725993637907482010-10-13T13:22:11.041-07:002010-10-13T13:22:11.041-07:00Thanks for this Russell.
Now all I have to do is...Thanks for this Russell. <br /><br />Now all I have to do is send the link to this post to my wife as my Christmas wish list. You've made it easy for me!Ted Bettshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06223729391428982448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3873756940955163469.post-34100470130744178252010-10-12T12:23:48.870-07:002010-10-12T12:23:48.870-07:00Thanks, Russell! I've read many of these books...Thanks, Russell! I've read many of these books, including The Discovery of Slowness (very strange,in my opinion)and North with Franklin (very enjoyable) but I see I am going to have to buy On the Proper Use of Stars! <br /><br />Again, thanks for the review and refresher of the fiction we can buy and read concerning the Franklin Expedition.David Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17034891361926618042noreply@blogger.com