Little is known about the life of Captain John Frederick Dennett, who published this compilation of travel narratives in 1826, with a second edition in 1835. A naval officer, he was clearly familiar with recent developments in polar exploration, but his writing also had an educational and moral purpose. 'It must be attended with advantage to become acquainted with the state of mankind in other parts of the world', but also it will be encouraging to the poor in Britain 'to find that the lowest state of comfort in this country is preferable to all the enjoyments within the reach of natives of other climes'. Emphasising encounters with native peoples rather than geographical or scientific discoveries, Dennett describes expeditions by Parry, Franklin and Sir John Ross in the Arctic seas and the Canadian north, and also includes a chapter on Giovanni Battista Belzoni's travels in Egypt and Nubia.