the "Journey to the Center of the Earth" This vigorous Arctic tale was used to found and introduce a "Magazine of Adventure" which has been continued somewhat irregularly ever since. After the adventures, trials and triumphs of Captain Hatter as had been completed in another tale, the two were revised and republished; and they are here given in their later form.
The first book, "The English at the North Pole," contains an accurate picture of Arctic life and of the Arctic geography known to the world of 1864. The account of the Franklin expedition and of the persistent and heroic search for its relief is carefully studied and complete, only it necessarily fails to include the later investigations of the American expedition under Lieutenant Schwatka. These finally settled the last details of the historic tragedy.
In "The English at the North Pole" as in "Five Weeks in a Balloon" Verne invents little. Here, despite the misleading title, the characters do not penetrate beyond known bounds; and their experiences are just such as our author had read in his careful study of the books of the polar explorers. But these adventures are here made intense and living, and are woven by the born story-teller into a thrilling tale.
