The Arctic Fury

A Novel

Greer Macallister

In 1846, Captain John Franklin commanded two ships — the HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror — on an expedition to the Arctic to navigate and map the Northwest Passage. Tragically, the ships were stranded in the ice, the men abandoned ship, and none of them was ever heard from again. This thrilling historical novel tells that story from a completely different perspective. Prepare to meet 13 unforgettable women.

In the world of this novel, it’s the 1850s, and Lady Jane Franklin, the wife of the missing captain, hires a group of adventurous women to trek into the Arctic to find her husband. Or to at least find out what happened to him.

The leader is Virginia, an experienced California trail guide. She’s made of pretty stern stuff, but she’s reeling from a recent emotional blow. And, when the story opens, she’s on trial, accused of murdering one of the women from her Arctic expedition.

The story alternates between the trial in Boston and events on the Arctic ice, slowly revealing devastating secrets, surprising plot twists, heartbreaking tragedy — and putting us in the company of women who crush society’s expectations of what they can do.

The skills of the women on the team are based on things that real women were doing at the time: cartography, botanical illustration, journalism, mountaineering, nursing — the kinds of unusual, and perhaps, unladylike, skills that would be helpful when trekking into the unknown.

Author Greer Macallister delivers historical fiction that’s taut with suspense and grounded in history with tantalizing answers to the question, ‘what if?’ The stakes are high on every page, and the plot will keep you guessing about what really happened on the frozen tundra.

Brooks drew a map from a hidden pocket and unrolled it on the table between them. He traced the route with a blunt fingertip as he went, hundreds of impossible miles streaming by in barely a sentence. ‘Train to Buffalo, canoes to Sault Ste. Marie, transport overland to Moose Factory, and a topsail schooner up the west side of Hudson Bay to Repulse Bay, arriving in late July. From there, you’ll make the overland trek to the search area. That’s King William’s Land, specifically Victory Point. That leaves you four months to trek in, search, and trek out before winter.’

‘Easy as falling off a log,’ said Virginia breezily. — Greer Macallister

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