The great white way; / a record of an unusual voyage of discovery, and some romantic love affairs amid strange surroundings

The narrator, an inheritor of a seafaring impulse, organizes and promotes a private Antarctic voyage aboard a steam yacht driven by the hope of finding a warm habitable region beneath the ice. The account blends practical seamanship, scientific curiosity, and speculative experiments in wireless communication with vivid encounters at sea: storms, rescue, and strange coastal lands beyond the polar barrier. Romantic and interpersonal subplots unfold among patrons, crew, and mysterious southern rulers, while the expedition's discoveries prompt reflections on wonder, loyalty, and the human appetite for exploration.