The book. It is one of the most fantastic discoveries of underwater archeology in recent decades: in September 2014, near the Adelaide peninsula, in the Canadian Far North, a mythical wreck was found, one hundred and sixty years after its disappearance in mysterious circumstances. TheErebus, pride of the British Navy, was finally located. A few months later, it was the turn of Terror, his faithful companion ship, to be spotted in the same icy waters.
Before this resurrection, these two bombers had a stormy life and death, which Michael Palin, member of the Monty Pythons and passionate about maritime history, brilliantly traces. For the occasion, he turned into a scrupulous documentary filmmaker, drawing from dizzyingly rich ship's documents, private correspondence piously preserved by the descendants of the protagonists. He adds a welcome hint of reporting, placing himself in the direct wake of the explorers to describe the land and ice they were the first to come across. Finally shows his empathy for colorful characters, whose greatness he highlights and crosses them with tact and "Humor". The result is a treat.
TheErebus should not have this destiny as a tireless explorer of the poles. Commissioned in 1828, it first patrolled the Mediterranean for the Crown. The one who would take command, James Clark Ross, was making his first steps in the Arctic, locating the 1er June 1831 the magnetic North Pole. By establishing its offset with the geographic North Pole, it rendered an outstanding service to maritime transport still very dependent on the compass – the GPS then, recalls Palin. In 1839, theErebus came out of his retirement and entrusted to Ross to continue these magnetic surveys, heading south.
White hell, gray hair
Its goal is to reach the southernmost latitude. "DuDu", a nickname given to Frenchman Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville, has already led the way, discovering the land of Adélie. The captain of theErebus this time will not plant the British flag on the magnetic pole – mountains of sea ice will prevent this. But, in three epic expeditions, he will begin to describe the edges of the Antarctic continent. From this white hell, he will return the gray hair, the trembling hands. No question for him to pile up to find the Northwest Passage.
John Franklin, a 60-year-old Arctic veteran, will lead the new expedition. He left in 1845 and will never return. His wife, Jane, will tirelessly multiply rescue operations, refusing the obvious and sometimes freezing testimony – human remains suggest that these subjects of Her Majesty could have engaged in cannibalism …
