Frederick G. Jackson's 1899 journal of his exploration in Franz Josef Land describes vividly a forbidding terrain of ice and snow.
In 1897, the triumphant return of the Jackson-Harmsworth Arctic expedition revived widespread enthusiasm for Polar exploration. Within days of the expedition's arrival in London, newspapers ranging from the Boy's Own Paper to the Graphic were full of articles relating to the endeavours and findings of this intrepid undertaking. The demand for information did not abate and, in 1899, this two-volume account by Frederick G. Jackson (1860-1938) of his travels in Franz Josef Land was published to wide acclaim. Hailed by The Morning Post as 'a record of solid achievement accomplished by dint of steady perseverance in the face of hardship and difficulty', Jackson's journal describes a forbidding terrain of ice and snow. Volume 1 deals with the journey north, the building of a base camp - a wooden hut named 'Elmwood' - and bear-hunting and sledging. Volume 2 includes accounts of new lands, dark winters, and a famous encounter with Nansen.