As a Headscratchers subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.
- Where did the Erebus crew get the dye they used for the Carnivale? Enough dye to cover seven large rooms seems like a strange thing to bring on a ship outfitted for Arctic exploration. The purple and violet rooms are especially hard to explain - for centuries, purple was notorious for being one of the most rare and expensive dye colors, and the first synthetic version wasn't invented until 1856, over a decade after the Franklin expedition set sail. For a novel that's otherwise well-researched and careful about detail, this is a pretty big oversight.
- What if Crozier DID go back to England?
- Honestly, it was probably a wise choice to stay. He'd certainly never have a job in The Royal Navy again, and no sailor would want to serve under him after such a debacle that literally killed everyone but him. He has no chance of marrying Sophia, given what happened to her uncle. He is too old (by Victorian England standards) to start a new career of any substance. His remaining life would have been of hardship and disgrace, doing manual labor, living in squalor and probably having no friends.
- He would have received a substantial pension as a disabled navy captain.
- Honestly, it was probably a wise choice to stay. He'd certainly never have a job in The Royal Navy again, and no sailor would want to serve under him after such a debacle that literally killed everyone but him. He has no chance of marrying Sophia, given what happened to her uncle. He is too old (by Victorian England standards) to start a new career of any substance. His remaining life would have been of hardship and disgrace, doing manual labor, living in squalor and probably having no friends.
