''Journey'', a novel by

James Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations, set in particular geographic locales ...

published in 1989, was expanded from a section originally cut from his large novel ''

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

'' (1988). The book depicts five men, one of whom being an English Lord (Lord Luton), who journey from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

through

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Dawson, Yukon Dawson City is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–1899). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest municipality in Yukon. History Prior t ...

in 1897-99 to participate in the Klondike gold rush. According to the novel's afterword, the section was cut from the original book because ''Alaska'' already contained a chapter on the Alaskan side of the gold rush. It was decided that chapter (which eventually became ''Journey'') could stand on its own as a short novel. Directed by Lord Luton, the group purposefully embarks on a more difficult than normal route available to pioneers of the era, purely to ensure that they remain the entire route on British soil, avoiding American territory which Luton has a patriotic aversion against. Along the way they encounter the

Athabasca Landing Athabasca ( 2021 population 2,759), originally named Athabasca Landing, is a town in northern Alberta, Canada. It is located north of Edmonton at the intersection of Highway 2 and Highway 55, on the banks of the Athabasca River. It is the cen ...

, the

Great Slave Lake Great Slave Lake is the second-largest lake in the Northwest Territories, Canada (after Great Bear Lake), List of lakes by depth, the deepest lake in North America at , and the List of lakes by area, tenth-largest lake in the world by area. It ...

, the

Mackenzie River The Mackenzie River (French: ; Slavey language, Slavey: ' èh tʃʰò literally ''big river''; Inuvialuktun: ' uːkpɑk literally ''great river'') is a river in the Canadian Canadian boreal forest, boreal forest and tundra. It forms, ...

, Fort Norman (a remote

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

outpost), exploding ice floes in springtime, starvation, scurvy, swarming Arctic mosquitoes and members of the native

Hän The Hän, Han or Hwëch'in / Han Hwech’in (meaning "People of the River, i.e. Yukon River", in English also Hankutchin) are a First Nations people of Canada and an Alaska Native Athabaskan people of the United States; they are part of the At ...

group.

Journey Prize

In 1989, Michener donated the royalty earnings from the Canadian edition of ''Journey'', published in Canada by

McClelland & Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

, to endow the

Journey Prize The Journey Prize (officially called The Writers' Trust of Canada McClelland & Stewart Journey Prize) is a Canadian literary award, presented annually by McClelland and Stewart and the Writers' Trust of Canada for the best short stories published b ...

, an annual Canadian literary award worth Cdn$10,000 that is awarded for the year's best

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

published by an emerging Canadian writer.

Research

Michener notes during his 'Reflections' chapter of the book that the writings of J.G. MacGregor in ''Klondike Rush Through Edmonton 1897-1898'' proved invaluable in describing conditions of the time, including susceptibility to scurvy.

References

1988 American novels Novels by James A. Michener Random House books Novels set in Yukon Fiction set in 1897 Fiction set in 1898 Novels set in the 1890s {{1980s-hist-novel-stub