Grim tale of Franklin’s frozen food

The concept of the noble failure is deeply embedded in our psyches. Even today, Captain Robert Falcon Scott is viewed as a greater hero for his disastrous expedition to the South Pole than Norwegian Roald Amundsen - who competently (and with no loss

Franklin: Tragic Hero of Polar Navigation

By Andrew Lambert

Faber & Faber, €24

The concept of the noble failure is deeply embedded in our psyches. Even today, Captain Robert Falcon Scott is viewed as a greater hero for his disastrous expedition to the South Pole than Norwegian Roald Amundsen - who competently (and with no loss of life) beat him in the race to reach it.

However, no Victorian public figure was ever ...