Charles Dickens helped the search for the lost Sir John Franklin expedition.

The disappearance in 1845 of Sir John Franklin and his crew in the Canadian Arctic set off the greatest rescue operation in the history of exploration. Charles Dickens at that time, used his influence to help Lady Jane Franklin search for her husband, Sir John Franklin. He wrote a two-part analysis of the ill-fated voyage called "The Lost Arctic Voyagers," and even lectured across Britain hoping to raise money for a rescue mission.

Dickens went on to support Sir John Franklin’s widow – Jane, Lady Franklin, – in her fight to redeem the reputation of her late husband, and to collaborate with Wilkie Collins in writing, producing, directing, and starring in the play The Frozen Deep (Collins & Dickens, 1966). Franklin is today represented in statues and memorials from London to Hobart, and is recognised as the discoverer of the fabled Northwest Passage.