Written as a response to Edgar Allan Poe's The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, this novel takes place in 1839, eleven years after the plot of Poe's novel and one year after its publication. Jeorling, a wealthy American, narrates An Antarctic Mystery, telling the story of his adventure from the Kerguelen Islands back to the U.S. To reach the U.S, Jeorling joins Len Guy's ship, the Halbrane. During the voyage, they find a dead sailor from the ship, the Jane, and a note with the body