Steve Young is an orphan whose uncle, Captain Young, has disappeared on a voyage to the Spitzbergen area, well to the north of Britain. Some of the Captain's friends charter a Norwegian vessel to go in search of him, and, much to the disgust of the ship's doctor, who thinks boys are nothing but a nuisance, Steve goes with them. Steve is a sixteen year old, unconscious of his own good looks, but needing a few hard lessons in life, which the trip provides in plenty. Encounters with Polar Bears, the intense cold of the arctic winter, gales and storms, strong currents, ice floes, the total darkness of the winter, and the occasional bad humour of various of the men of the rescue party. According to Wikipedia: "George Manville Fenn (January 3, 1831, Pimlico - August 26, 1909, Isleworth) was a British writer. He worked as a teacher in Lincolnshire, until he became printer, editor and publisher of various magazines. He had eight children with his wife Susanna Leake, whom he had married in 1855. Most of hist work consists of adventure stories for young readers, featuring Explorers, Smugglers, young Adventurers and Seamen. His adult novels offer critical social commentary on Victorian England, especially reconsidering economic questions."