Sir John Franklin's Narrative of the Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea in the Years 1819-1822 recounts a hair-raising adventure of the "Golden Age of Discovery", the period from 1800 to 1847 when sailing ships from around the world feverishly searched for a Northwest Passage through the Arctic. Franklin entered the Royal Navy at the age of 14, went on his first exploratory voyage to Australia (1801-03), and served in the battles of Trafalgar (1805) and New Orleans (1814). He was co-commander of an Arctic expedition of 1818 that sought to reach the North Pole, and after his return to England, he published Narrative in 1823 to much fanfare.
