The search for the North West Passage to the Far East was the main driving force behind British arctic exploration from the sixteenth to the mid-nineteenth century, culminating in the famous and ill-fated Franklin expedition, the disappearance of which and the resulting search for the missing crews is one of the great tragic stories of the history of exploration. This book covers the early history of this great quest, including the voyages of Frobisher, Hudson and Captain Cook, and all of Franklin's expeditions. After the disappearance of his ships Erebus and Terror, his wife galvanised the Government into mounting a search for her husband and his men and these expeditions are also vividly described.It examines the British encounters with the Esquimaux and their vital help in charting the Arctic archipelago, the way the variations in the ice from year to year affected the results of each expedition, and the ships, boats, diet and clothing of the early explorers.This book will be cornpulsive reading for all those interested in the saga of arctic exploration and for those who enjoy the recounting of stories of human endeavour in the face of terrible odds.