‘An extraordinary treasure trove’ Andrew Marr

A unique collection of unpublished letters from the climbing legend George Mallory to his family, revealing his innermost thoughts about people, places and mountains.



On the 8th of June, 1924, George Mallory and Sandy Irvine were seen through a telescope on the upper slopes of Mount Everest. They were never seen alive again. In 1999, Mallory’s body was found below the ridge where he was last seen. In the 100 years since his disappearance, many words have been written about Mallory, but very little has ever been published of his own thoughts.


Letters from Everest is an eye opening set of personal letters from Mallory to his family, collected and published for the first time by his great-nephew. In the letters, Mallory is completely open about his life, his climbing and especially the three Everest Expeditions he was a part of – 1921, 1922 and the last in 1924. His writing is full of extraordinary insights – most of which have never been published in any form. They are a unique collection – an actual reflection, possibly the one and only, of the thoughts of a climbing legend who walked into history a century ago.