Around the end of the 16th century, several expeditions had undertaken to establish a north-east passage, but sea-fogs, pack-ice and the confusing geography of the coast of Russia consistently frustrated them. No-one pursued the idea of a north-east passage with such tenacious skill as the Dutch sailing-master William Barents. The glory and failure of his third voyage, with which this book is concerned, was the last major attempt to open up such a route until, nearly 300 years later, success came in the age of steam.