Explorer John Rae turns up in latest Ripcord Adventure Journal

 A lovely bit of mix-and-match turns up in the latest Ripcord Adventure Journal. The illustration above, found as a double-truck on pages 21 and 22, combines the new Stromness statue of John Rae with the Hall of Clestrain in which the explorer grew up. Based in Ireland, backed by the World Explorers Bureau, Ripcord is…

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How Lady Franklin led Charles Dickens to disgrace himself

In Lady Franklin’s Revenge, I devote 130 pages to showing not only how Lady Franklin orchestrated  the search for Sir John Franklin, but how she manipulated public opinion after explorer John Rae returned with the first news of the fate of her husband’s expedition. In this excerpt, we find her getting Charles Dickens involved. .…

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