Born in London in 1745, Samuel Hearne joined the Royal Navy at the age of 12 and served under Captain Samuel Hood during the Seven Years War. In 1766, seeking adventure, he joined the Hudson's Bay Company to work as first mate on a whaling ship. He was based at the HBC's northernmost outpost, Prince of Wales fort, and was only 24 when he set out on the quest described in this book.

Ken McGoogan is the globe-trotting Canadian author of seventeen books—mostly nonfiction narratives but also novels and memoirs. His bestselling titles include Searching for Franklin, Fatal Passage, Lady Franklin’s Revenge, and Canada’s Undeclared War: Fighting Words from the Literary Trenches. His most recent release, Shadows of Tyranny: Defending Democracy in an Age of Dictatorship, explores how figures like Donald Trump replay many aspects of the authoritarianism that spread in the middle of the last century.

McGoogan’s many accolades include the Pierre Berton Award for Popular History and the University of British Columbia Medal for Canadian Biography. A fellow of the Explorers Club and the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, McGoogan sails as a resource historian with Adventure Canada. He was born in Montreal, has lived in towns and cities across the country, and now resides in Guelph, ON.