Book List

*** Updated 19th January 2018 ***

Member John Snoad has compiled this bibliography for The John Rae Society. We wish to thank John most sincerely for his time and efforts in bringing together such a wonderful and valuable list.

Hopefully the contents will increase over time. Should you wish to nominate any work for inclusion, please contact us and we shall give careful consideration to your suggestion.

There is a PDF version that you can download from here

There are two groupings:

[1] Books directly related to Dr John Rae; and

[2] General List – The Arctic, Arctic Exploration & The Northwest Passage

There are some exceptional and fascinating works below and we hope you enjoy them.

Book list for The John Rae Society

Books directly related to Dr John Rae

Finding John Rae
by Alice Jane Hamilton
Full review here
Vancouver: Ronsdale Press, 2017.
$21.95  /  9781553804819

Narrative of an Expedition to the Shores of the Arctic Sea in 1846 and 1847 – Rae, John
Hardback: T and W. Boone, London 1850
Modern paperback, print on demand.
Gale Sabin Americana, Print Editions 1500-1926, U.S.A., ISBN 9781275755963.

John Rae’s correspondence with the Hudson’s Bay Company
on Arctic exploration, 1844-1855
Publications of the Hudson’s Bay Record Society, No.16. ISBN 0811531899.
Reissue of the above by Touch Wood Editions, Victoria, Canada, 2014
with a foreword by Ken McGoogan. Paperback ISBN 9781771510844.

The Melancholy Fate of Sir John Franklin and His Party as Disclosed in Dr Rae’s Report;
Together with the Dispatches and Letters of Captain M’Clure – Rae, John & M’Clure, Robert
Numerous scanned versions currently available of the original from various publishers.
Original published by John Bett, London, 1854. Under seventy pages.
E-book of original available. Also in pdf from the Biodiversity Heritage Library.
An inexpensive scanned reprint is available from Gyan Books PVT Ltd and Isha Books,
New Delhi, 2013 in both paper and hardback. Hardback ISBN 9789333119337.

The Arctic Journals of John Rae – Selected and introduced by Ken McGoogan
Touchwood Editions, Victoria, Canada, 2012. Paperback ISBN 9781927129746.
The same edition is sold in the U.K. E-book edition available.

Dr. John Rae – Richards, Robert L.
Caedmon of Whitby, 1985.
Hardback ISBN 0905355296 (rare)

Discovering the Arctic: The Story of John Rae – Wilson, John
Stories of Canada
Napoleon Publishing, Toronto, Canada, 2004.
Hardback ISBN 0929141881; E-book edition available. (a book intended for children)

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General List – The Arctic, Arctic Exploration & The Northwest Passage

The North-West Passage – Amundsen, Roald E.G.
Originally published in Norwegian as Nordvest-Passagen, by Aschehoug & Co.,
Kristiania, 1907. A digital version is available from Norwegian National Library
and Project Runeberg: http://runeberg.org/arnvpass/
A souvenir edition in four volumes of Amundsen’s collected works (Roald Amundsens Opdagelsereiser) was published by Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, Oslo, 1928.
Volume 1: Nordvestpassasjen – Report of the Gjøa-Expedition 1903-1907.
Modern English version is facsimile of edition published by Archibald Constable in
London, 1908. Its large maps may be downloaded from Elibron’s website.
The North-West Passage. Being the Record of a Voyage of Exploration of the Ship <Gjöa>
1903-1907 Volume 1
, by Elibron Classics, U.S.A., 2006.
Paperback: ISBN 0543976742; Hardback: ISBN 0543976734; E-book edition available.
The complete text is in Volume 1. Volume 2 is Amundsen’s Antarctic expedition.

Karluk’s Last Voyage – Bartlett, Robert A.
An Epic of Death and Survival in the Arctic
Cooper Square Press, New York, 2001. Paperback ISBN 0815411243
A republication of The Last Voyage of the Karluk published in Boston in 1916.

Frozen in Time – Beattie, Owen and Geiger, John
The Fate of the Franklin Expedition
Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 1987.
Hardback ISBN 0747501017; Paperback: ISBN 0747577277; E-book edition available.

Memoirs of Lieutenant Joseph Rene Bellot – Bellot, Joseph René
With his Journal of a Voyage in the Polar Seas, in Search of Sir John Franklin, V2
Facsimile reprint of the Hurst & Blackett edition of 1855.
Kessinger Publishing Legacy Reprints, 2007. Paperback, ISBN 1432677470.

Enlightened Zeal – Binnema, Ted
The Hudson’s Bay Company & Scientific Networks, 1670-1870
University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Canada, 2014.
Hardback ISBN 9781442649671. Paperback ISBN 9781442614758.

Roald Amundsen – Bomann-Larsen, Tor
First published in Norway by Cappelen, 1995.
English translation published by Sutton Publishing, Stroud, 2006. Hardback ISBN 0750943432

No Ordinary Journey – Bunyan, Ian; Calder, Jennie; Idiens, Dale; Wilson, Bryce
John Rae: Arctic Explorer 1813-1893
National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh and McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1993.
U.K. edition: Hardback ISBN 0948636394; Paperback ISBN 0948636386.
Canadian edition: Hardback ISBN 0773511067; Paperback ISBN 0773511075.

The Exploration of Northern Canada, 500 to 1920 – Cooke, Alan and Holland, Clive
Arctic History Press, Toronto, 1978. Hardback ISBN 0771022654.

The New North – Cameron, Agnes Deans
An Account of a Woman’s 1908 Journey through Canada to the Arctic
University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London, 1986. Paperback ISBN 0803263236.

Across the Top of the World – Delgado, James P.
The Quest for the Northwest Passage
Canadian edition published by Douglas & McIntyre, 1999 and 2009.
Hardback (medium large format) ISBN 1550547344 (1999).
Hardback (medium large format) ISBN 1553651598 (2009).
U.K. edition published by British Museum Press, London, 1999.
Hardback (medium large format) ISBN 0714127353.

Arctic Workhorse – Delgado, James P.
The R.C.M. Schooner St. Roch
Touch Wood Editions, Victoria, Canada, 2003. Paperback ISBN 0920663869.

Selected Letters of LADY FRANKLIN – Elce, E.B. (Editor)
Concerning the Search for the Lost Franklin Expedition, 1848-1860
With an introduction and notes by the editor
McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2009. Montreal & Kingston, London & Ithaca
Hardback ISBN 9780773534797.

Discovery of the North – Francis, Daniel
The Exploration of Canada’s Arctic
Hurtig Publishers, Edmonton, 1986. Hardback ISBN 0888302800.

A Journey to the Northern Ocean – Hearne, Samuel
The Adventures of Samuel Hearne
Touchwood Editions, Victoria, Canada, 2012.
Paperback ISBN 9781894898607; E-book edition available.
The same edition is sold in the U.K.

The People of the Twilight – Jenness, Diamond
Two Years among the Eskimos above the Arctic Circle
(Preface by Fridtjof Nansen – originally published by The Macmillan Company in 1928)
University of Chicago Press, Chicago, U.S.A. and London, 1959. Paperback (no ISBN).

The Making of an Explorer – Jenness, Stuart E
George Hubert Wilkins and the Canadian Arctic Expedition 1913-1916.
McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal & London, 2004. Hardback ISBN 0773527982

Arctic Odyssey – The Diary of Diamond Jennes 1913-1916
Edited and annotated by Stuart E. Jenness (author’s son).
Canadian Museum of Civilization, Quebec, 1991. Hardback ISBN 0662129051.

Dangerous Passage – Kenney, Gerard
Issues in the Arctic. (A modern appraisal of its environmental and sovereignty issues).
Natural Heritage Books, Toronto, 2006. Paperback: ISBN 1897045131.

Franklin – Lambert, Andrew
Tragic Hero of Polar Navigation
Faber and Faber, London, 2009. Hardback 9780571231607.

Across the Keewatin Icefields – Leden, Christian
Three Years Among the Canadian Eskimos, 1913-1916.
Translated from the German. Watson & Dwyer Publishing, Winnipeg.
Hardback ISBN 0920486193; Paperback ISBN 0920486460.

Science and the Canadian Arctic – Levere, Trevor H.
A century of Exploration 1818-1918
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1993. Hardback ISBN 0521419336.

The Voyage of the ‘Fox’ in the Arctic Seas – McClintock, Sir Francis L.
A Narrative of the Discovery of the Fate of Sir John Franklin and his Companions
Touchwood Editions, Victoria, B.C., 2012.
Paperback: ISBN 1927129206 E-book edition available.
Hardback (mini), Könemann, Cologne, 1998. ISBN 3829008953.

Fatal Passage – McGoogan, Ken
The story of John Rae, The Arctic Hero Time Forgot.
Original version published in Canada by HarperCollins.
Paperback 2002: ISBN 0006386598; Hardback:ISBN 0002000547.
U.S. edition by Carroll & Graf Publishers, New York, 2002. Hardback: ISBN 0786709936.
U.K. edition by Transworld-Bantam Books, London, 2002.
Paperback ISBN 0553814934; E-book edition available.

Lady Franklin’s Revenge – McGoogan, Ken
A True Story of Ambition, Obsession, and the Remaking of Arctic History
U.K. edition: Bantam Press, London, 2007 Paperback ISBN 0553816438
Canadian edition: HarperCollins, Toronto, 2005. Paperback ISBN 0002006715.

The Long Exile – McGrath, Melanie
A Tale of Inuit Betrayal and Survival in the High Arctic
Alfred A. Knoff, New York and HarperCollins, London, 2006/7.
Hardback ISBN 9781400040476.

Exploring Polar Frontiers – Mills, William James
A Historical Encyclopaedia.
ABC-Clio, Santa Barbara, 2003. (Large format in two volumes)
Hardback ISBN 1576074226; E-book edition available.

Nunga – Pryde, Duncan
Ten Years of Eskimo Life
MacGibbon & Kee, London, 1972. Hardback ISBN 0261100122.

Reports and Other Papers Relating to the Two Voyages of the RCMP
Police Schooner St. Roch Through the North West Passage – RCMP Staff
Royal Canadian Mounted Police – 1945
Vancouver Maritime Museum, 2000. Facsimile of 1945 edition. Hardback ISBN 1894654005.

A Country So Interesting – Ruggles, Richard I.
The Hudson’s Bay Company and Two Centuries of Mapping 1670-1870
McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal, 1991. Hardback ISBN 0773506780.

The Arctic – Sale, Richard
The complete story
Francis Lincoln, London, 2008. (Large format single volume illustrated encyclopaedia)
Hardback ISBN 9780711227071.

The Scramble for the Arctic – Sale, Richard and Potapov, Eugene
Ownership, Exploitation and Conflict in the Far North
Frances Lincoln, London, 2010. Hardback ISBN 9780711230408.

The Search for the North West Passage – Savours, Ann
Chatham Publishing, London, 1999. Hardback ISBN 1861760590.

The Long Arctic Search – Schwatka, Lieutenant Frederick
The Narrative of Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka,U.S.A. 1878-1880
Seeking the Records of the Lost Franklin Expedition

Marine Historical Association, Mystic, Connecticut, 1965 – Pub. no.44. Paperback: no ISBN.

Captain Francis Crozier – Last Man Standing? – Smith, Michael
Collins Press, Cork, 2006. Hardback ISBN 1905172095.

The Friendly Arctic – Stefansson, Vilhjalmur
The Story of Five Years in Polar Regions
Facsimile reprint of The Macmillan Company’s edition of 1921.
Kessinger Publishing Legacy Reprints, Whitefish, U.S.A. (Print-on-demand)
Hardback, Volume 1: ISBN 0548238588; Volume 2: ISBN 0548280304.

Arctic Labyrinth: The Quest for the Northwest Passage – Williams, Glyn.
U.K. editions:           Allen Lane, London 2009. Hardback ISBN 1846141389
                                    Penguin Books, London 2010. Paperback ISBN 0141037156.
Canadian edition:    Penguin Books, Victoria 2010. Paperback ISBN 0143170007

Voyages of Delusion – Williams, Glyn
The Search for the Northwest Passage in the Age of Reason
HarperCollins, London, 2002. Hardback ISBN 0002571811.

Unravelling The Franklin Mystery – Inuit Testimony – Woodman, D.C.
McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1991. Montreal & Kingston, London & Buffalo
Hardback ISBN 0773508333.

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