Fiction Pick of the Week: Paths of Glory

Paths of Glory by Jeffrey Archer 2009

This historical novel is a fascinating fictionalized version of the life of George Mallory, who in 1924 was last seen 600 feet from the top of Mount Everest. Even after his body was discovered in 1999, it’s still unknown whether he, rather than Sir Edmund Hillary, was actually the first to climb Everest (although Jeffrey Archer offers his own solution to mountaineering’s most enduring mystery). Paths of Glory brings to life a man who was a legend in his time, tells the story of his devoted marriage with his wife Ruth, and left me intrigued and wanting to read more about this schoolmaster who, in tweeds and homeknit gloves, took on a challenge equivalent to what the moon landing would be 45 years later.