Kaliane Bradley’s interest in historical polar exploration inspired her to write The Ministry of Time. She was particularly fascinated by the 1845 Franklin Expedition (named after its commander, Sir John Franklin). She and friends who shared her interests imagined what it would be like if their favorite polar explorer lived with them. Bradley began writing the book to amuse these friends, basing it on her favorite explorer from the Franklin Expedition: First Lieutenant Graham Gore. He was second in command to James Fitzjames, captain of HMS Erebus, who lacked any previous polar experience. The second ship, HMS Terror, was captained by Francis Cozier, who had gone on five prior Arctic and Antarctic voyages.

The two ships set out from Greenhithe in Kent on May 19, 1845. They were tasked with finding the Northwest Passage, which at the time was a hypothetical route through the North American Arctic that would connect the United Kingdom more directly to trading empires in Asia. Neither the ships nor their crews were ever seen again. In 1854, after a seven-year search for the lost ships, the expedition was officially deemed lost, and all its members were pronounced dead.