February 1907

Amundsen

Amundsen received an offer of further lectures in England, although attendance, it was noted, would not be great. "Your spectacular expedition attracted attention among the scientific public, but has not caught the imagination of the general public sufficiently to make the lecture tour a financial success." [1]

It had been known for some time that the Northwest Passage would not after all be the navigable trade route hoped for since the days of Cabot, and interest had dwindled even in Britain, source of numerous expeditions even before that of Amundsen's hero Sir John Franklin. Still, the Norwegian Consulate in London wrote to Amundsen that they were "more than surprised by the way in which you and your expedition have been ignored by the British press," and his British press agent ventured that "the expedition had lacked grandeur despite achieving great things." [2]

"There is no doubt," wrote Scott Keltie, "that if you had returned home via Cape Horn with your ship, and thus circumnavigated America, before sailing up the Atlantic and along the Thames to London, it would have made a big impression on the British public and thereby you could possibly have got more money from papers and publishers." [3]


Notes:

[1] Gerald Christy? quoted by Tor Bomann-Larsen in Roald Amundsen (Stroud, Gloucestershire : Sutton, c2006, c1995), p.56-57.
[2] Both quoted by Tor Bomann-Larsen in Roald Amundsen (Stroud, Gloucestershire : Sutton, c2006, c1995), p.57.
[3] Scott Keltie, letter to Roald Amundsen, [date not given], quoted by Tor Bomann-Larsen in Roald Amundsen (Stroud, Gloucestershire : Sutton, c2006, c1995), p.57.