Paths of Glory

This biographical novel follows British mountaineer George Mallory from his education and marriage to Ruth Turner through his growing commitment to Himalayan exploration. Mallory joins the early British expeditions to Mount Everest in 1921 and 1922, when mapping, high-altitude equipment and climbing methods were still experimental. His desire to reach the summit places repeated strain on family life and exposes the physical and institutional demands of interwar exploration.

In 1924 Mallory returns to Everest with a new expedition and chooses the young Andrew Irvine for the final summit attempt. The two climbers are last seen high on the mountain before disappearing, leaving unresolved whether they reached the summit before Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay’s confirmed ascent in 1953. The novel dramatises that historical uncertainty while examining ambition, endurance and the personal cost of pursuing an achievement that cannot be verified.