Littéraires - Even Higher than Everest - George Almond

On reaching the final page of George Almond’s fictionalised recounting of a true story, the only thing left for readers to say, surely has to be ‘wow’.  

Sharing a series of events that could have been lost in the annals of time, Even Higher than Everest is a tale about girl power, creating firsts, and doing things on your terms.  Whilst most 1930’s heiresses presumably had more frivolous things to think about, the spirit and pluck of Lucy Houston is evident throughout, as it narrates how she pulled together an eclectic team (all of whom had survived the Great War and were experts in their fields) to embark on the almost unthinkable feat of flying over Everest. And, then twenty years later, her team’s photography (which was forensically studied by Hilary’s team) helped pave the way for the successful 1953 historic ascent.

Ensuring that his fictionalised version remains true to events, the author sought input from a range of sources, including family members, mountaineers, engineers and pilots, all of which further adds to the authenticity of his narrative and the expedition’s achievements.

With footage of the expedition winning an Oscar in 1936 (Wings over Everest won an Academy Award in the Best Short category), and with the ninetieth anniversary of Lucy Houston’s expedition looming next year, this heiress’s story and that of her expedition will hopefully pique the interest of a movie maker sometime soon, ensuring that the achievements of this remarkable, pioneering woman and her courageous aviators can be further recognised.

Synopsis:

Aiming to inform and entertain a broad readership, the tale follows Garland, a young American journalist, as she acts as PA to a notorious heiress Lucy Houston. On the steam yacht Liberty, Garland’s romances intrigue her employer who agrees to sponsor a team of prestigious aviators and five aircraft. They will fly to India and stay with a Maharaja during their three visits the world’s highest mountains.

Chock-full of colourful aristocrats, pilots, engineers and supernumeraries from the British and Indian elite, the expedition is set up in Mayfair. After tests in the West Country the crews fly to Purnea. Despite many bizarre setbacks, the pilots take their open-cockpit biplanes into dangerous freezing gales over the Himalayas. Everest is conquered by air and an Oscar is awarded to the film for its sheer audacity.

Lucy Houston DBE was the extraordinary woman, a talented dancer and charmer of men, who had the vision and the means to dispatch her own expedition to fly even higher than Everest.

The author says:

Ask any of the world's several million pilots how they regard flying an open-cockpit, single-engine biplane with no parachutes into the turbulence and freezing gales that churn across the Himalayas? Most agree that such a flight would be exceptionally challenging even by today's standards.

The project daunted most British investors ninety years ago, and it was ultimately just a single woman who had the courage to stump up approximately £1 million by today's values to send her pilots on their way. But Lucy didn't stop there. Without Lucy's finance for early Spitfire engines, much of our national history might have been so very different. 

Having sailed the world's oceans and travelled by horse in Europe, I was gripped by these two stories of the 1930's and felt compelled to visit the charm of the Spey valley and the snow giants of the Himalayas. I only hope the adventures I enjoyed in my research translates to the readers.

Receiving five-star reviews, Amazon readers say:

“Yay, George Almond!  You DID it!  You delivered a fine story--and a fun story--with your Higher Than Everest dramatization. I loved many aspects about this book.  It was fun to relate to the personalities involved in this project, as they dared to ponder possibilities, and to learn of the dreamers and experts who made that flight a reality.  I loved learning about the challenges they faced each step of the way before the flight could actually be attempted.  Short chapter reads helped me track the myriad individuals and decisions which had to be made.  I found it all fascinating.       

“You had me on the edge of my seat with the actual flights over the Himalayas.  I could SEE the mountains in my mind's eye and could feel the tension and the dangers they faced.  That was great!       
There were so many individuals involved, to help pull this off.  Lady Houston, who financially sponsored the expedition, was a fascinating woman to learn about.  The world owes her a thank you!  And you artfully wove in technical details that I found interesting, along with other interesting tales and minutiae.  Your research into the details was impressive.  I truly felt like I was there.” – Marla Bray – Amazon - USA

Published by Paragon Publishing, Even Higher than Everest is available in paperback (£13.07) and Kindle format (£6.99 or free via Kindle Unlimited) on Amazon at https://bit.ly/3VVRZN2 and https://bit.ly/3uu1FTc

About the author:

George Almond is the grandson of a Wyoming horse rancher, enjoys revisiting great adventures and was himself employed as a cowboy in Texas and Canada, before going to Oxford University to study modern languages. Since then the years have provided him with many exotic adventures on land, sea and in the air.

Editeur : Paragon Publishing

Nombre de pages : 264 pages

Prix :  £13.07