Albert Smith is one of the most famous Victorians of whom you've probably never heard. During his lifetime, he was a household name, thrilling audiences with his Ascent of Mont Blanc show at London's Egyptian Hall. An inveterate showman, Smith was also a doctor, journalist, raconteur, novelist, travel writer, and playwright. His many talents were outstripped only by his boundless self-belief and huge personality. Even Queen Victoria described him in her journal as "inimitable," an epithet Smith's contemporary Charles Dickens liked to reserve for himself. Although Smith died aged only 43, he...

This book is about the rise of a new ethos in British mountaineering during the late nineteenth century.