Some context: Alan Garner OBE (born 17 October 1934) is an English novelist best known for his children's fantasy novels and his retellings of traditional British folk tales. Much of his work is firmly rooted in the landscape, history and folklore of his native county of Cheshire, North West England, being set in the region and making use of the native Cheshire dialect. Born in Congleton, Garner grew up around the nearby town of Alderley Edge, and spent much of his youth in the wooded area known locally as 'The Edge', where he gained an early interest in the folklore of the region. Studying at Manchester Grammar School and then briefly at Oxford University, in 1957 he moved to the nearby village of Blackden, where he bought and renovated an Early Modern building known as Toad Hall.
In 1962 Garner began work on a radio play named Elidor, which would result in the completion of a novel of the same name. Set in contemporary Manchester, Elidor tells the story of four children who enter into a derelict Victorian church, in which they find a portal to the magical realm of Elidor. Here, they are entrusted by King Malebron to help rescue four treasures which have been stolen by the forces of evil who are attempting to take control of the kingdom. Successfully doing so, the children return to Manchester with the treasures, but are pursued by the malevolent forces who need them to seal their victory.  Before writing Elidor, Garner had seen a dinner service set which could be arranged to make pictures of either flowers or owls. Inspired by this design, he produced his fourth novel, The Owl Service. The story was also heavily influenced by the Medieval Welsh tale of Math fab Mathonwy from, the Mabinogion. The Owl Service was critically acclaimed, winning both the Carnegie Medal and Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. It also sparked discussions among critics as to whether Garner should properly be considered a children's writer, given that this book in particular was deemed equally suitable for an adult readership.  It took Garner six years to write his next novel, Red Shift. In this, he provided three intertwined love stories, one set in the present, another during the English Civil War, and the third in the second century CE. Philip referred to it as "a complex book but not a complicated one: the bare lines of story and emotion stand clear". Academic specialist in children's literature Maria Nikolajeva characterised Red Shift as "a difficult book" for an unprepared reader, identifying its main themes as those of "loneliness and failure to communicate". Ultimately, she thought that repeated re-readings of the novel bring about the realisation that "it is a perfectly realistic story with much more depth and psychologically more credible than the most so-called "realistic" juvenile novels."
Are there any other interesting aspects about this article?
A: Red Shift. In this, he provided three intertwined love stories, one set in the present, another during the English Civil War, and the third in the second century
Some context: Born in Scotland on 15 June 1792, he was son of John Mitchell of Carron Works and was brought up from childhood by his uncle, Thomas Livingstone of Parkhall, Stirlingshire. On the death of his uncle, he joined the British army in Portugal as a volunteer, at the age of sixteen. On 24 June 1811, at the age of nineteen, he received his first commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the 1st Battalion 95th Rifles (later the Rifle Brigade / Royal Green Jackets). Utilising his skills as a draughtsman of outstanding ability, he was occasionally employed in the Quartermaster-General's department under Sir George Murray.
Mitchell's fourth expedition was into Queensland in 1845-46. He was convinced that a significant river must flow north-west into the Gulf of Carpentaria, this being the main thrust of the endeavour.  On 15 December 1845 Mitchell started from Boree (Buree in Mitchell's journal) with a large party including Edmund Kennedy as second in command (later speared to death at Escape River near Cape York). He struck the Darling River above Fort Bourke then continued to the Narran River, the Balonne, and the Culgoa. On 12 April 1846 he came to a natural bridge of rocks on the main branch of the Balonne which he called St.George Bridge, now the site of the town of St George. Kennedy was left in charge of the main body here, and was instructed to follow on slowly while Mitchell pushed ahead with a few men. Mitchell followed the Balonne to the Maranoa, and the Cogoon (now called Muckadilla Creek, near Roma). This rivulet led him to a magnificent pastoral district in the midst of which stood a solitary hill that he named Mount Abundance. He then crossed a low watershed to the Maranoa and awaited Kennedy's arrival. Kennedy rejoined Mitchell on 1 June 1846.  Leaving Kennedy for a second time, he set out on an extensive excursion of more than four months. Mitchell traversed the country at the head of the Maranoa and discovered the Warrago River. Keeping north over the watershed, he traversed the Claude and Nogoa rivers, then reached the Belyando River, an upper reach of the Burdekin River. This had already been discovered by Ludwig Leichhardt on his expedition to Port Essington on 2 April 1845. Intensely mortified to find that he was on a tributary of the Burdekin River, and approaching the ground already trodden by Leichhardt, he returned to the head of the Nogoa and struck west, after dividing his party and forming a stationary camp. He continued west, making a new discovery which he was certain was the fabled north-west river. In honour of the sovereign of the time he decided to call it Victoria River. Having run out of time, he turned back towards the main party. It was here that Mitchell first noticed the well known grass that bears his name. On the homeward journey he trekked along the Maranoa River to St.George Bridge, arriving in Sydney 20 January 1847. Later that year, Kennedy proved beyond doubt that the Victoria did not continue north-west, but turned south-west and joined Cooper Creek. He renamed the watercourse the Barcoo River from a name mentioned by local Aborigines.
What was Mitchell exploring during his fourth expedition?
A:
Mitchell's fourth expedition was into Queensland in 1845-46. He was convinced that a significant river must flow north-west into the Gulf of Carpentaria,