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Coronation Everest: Eyewitness Dispatches From The Historic Hillary Climb
May 29, 1953: Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay first reach the summit of Mount Everest, and Coronation Day for a new Queen, Elizabeth II.
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First published January 1, 1958
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About the author
Jan Morris
166 books481 followersJan Morris was a British historian, author and travel writer. Morris was educated at Lancing College, West Sussex, and Christ Church, Oxford, but is Welsh by heritage and adoption. Before 1970 Morris published under her assigned birth name, "James ", and is known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy, a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities, notably Oxford, Venice, Trieste, Hong Kong, and New York City, and also wrote about Wales, Spanish history, and culture.
In 1949 Jan Morris married Elizabeth Tuckniss, the daughter of a tea planter. Morris and Tuckniss had five children together, including the poet and musician Twm Morys. One of their children died in infancy. As Morris documented in her memoir Conundrum, she began taking oestrogens to feminise her body in 1964. In 1972, she had sex reassignment surgery in Morocco. Sex reassignment surgeon Georges Burou did the surgery, since doctors in Britain refused to allow the procedure unless Morris and Tuckniss divorced, something Morris was not prepared to do at the time. They divorced later, but remained together and later got a civil union. On May, 14th, 2008, Morris and Tuckniss remarried each other. Morris lived mostly in Wales, where her parents were from.
In 1949 Jan Morris married Elizabeth Tuckniss, the daughter of a tea planter. Morris and Tuckniss had five children together, including the poet and musician Twm Morys. One of their children died in infancy. As Morris documented in her memoir Conundrum, she began taking oestrogens to feminise her body in 1964. In 1972, she had sex reassignment surgery in Morocco. Sex reassignment surgeon Georges Burou did the surgery, since doctors in Britain refused to allow the procedure unless Morris and Tuckniss divorced, something Morris was not prepared to do at the time. They divorced later, but remained together and later got a civil union. On May, 14th, 2008, Morris and Tuckniss remarried each other. Morris lived mostly in Wales, where her parents were from.
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June 18, 2020I have a literary crush on Jan Morris (she has her own shelf) and a lifetime fascination with Mt. Everest. So it was just a matter of time till I read this.
The skinny is that Morris (then James Morris) accompanied the British team on its 1953 Everest attempt and was the first one to report the success (for the Times) coincidentally on the very eve of the Coronation of Elizabeth II.
This book was written shortly after the two successes. It is not, be warned, a step by step account to the summit. Rather, it is mostly Morris' rather paranoid attempts to make sure his story of the conquering is published first. So, his dispatches are in code, and he might have to tell a fib or two. Maybe because we know Morris got the scoop, I did not inch forward to the edge of my seat. Still, Morris, an inexperienced climber, went very high up.
While the Morris of the time could refer to the Sherpas as that small race, she also had a palpable fondness for them and, in particular, she exalts Norkay Tenzing.
Perhaps it is less important that Morris got the scoop than that this launched her literary career. We'd be the poorer if it was otherwise. And while this doesn't have that great Morris phrasing on every page, there was the occasional flash:
As the evening approached it began to snow, as it often did on Everest. In the sunshine the icefall could be a stifling place, for the heat was caught between the walls and pillars of ice, and was able (so few were the available targets) to pick you out personally for a roast.
The skinny is that Morris (then James Morris) accompanied the British team on its 1953 Everest attempt and was the first one to report the success (for the Times) coincidentally on the very eve of the Coronation of Elizabeth II.
This book was written shortly after the two successes. It is not, be warned, a step by step account to the summit. Rather, it is mostly Morris' rather paranoid attempts to make sure his story of the conquering is published first. So, his dispatches are in code, and he might have to tell a fib or two. Maybe because we know Morris got the scoop, I did not inch forward to the edge of my seat. Still, Morris, an inexperienced climber, went very high up.
While the Morris of the time could refer to the Sherpas as that small race, she also had a palpable fondness for them and, in particular, she exalts Norkay Tenzing.
Perhaps it is less important that Morris got the scoop than that this launched her literary career. We'd be the poorer if it was otherwise. And while this doesn't have that great Morris phrasing on every page, there was the occasional flash:
As the evening approached it began to snow, as it often did on Everest. In the sunshine the icefall could be a stifling place, for the heat was caught between the walls and pillars of ice, and was able (so few were the available targets) to pick you out personally for a roast.
January 25, 2018
I think this was the first of Morris’s brilliant travel books, written nearly 60 years ago - though there is an introduction and afterword from the 50th anniversary of the climbing of Everest in 1953
(James) Morris was a journalist back then, sent out by The Times to provide exclusive coverage of the climb, and this is a short but jaunty account that includes his efforts to get his bulletins down to Kathmandu without them being intercepted, observations about life in Nepal, and his experiences as a mountaineer - which he had never done before.
He is very self-deprecating about his struggles with ice-climbing and the rigours of high altitude, but his abilities were really rather remarkable as he made the ascent – twice – from Base Camp to Camp IV at over 21000 feet. He was up there to greet Hillary and Tenzing when they triumphantly returned – (though there is no mention of Hillary’s laconic comment to Lowe: “well George, we knocked the bastard off!” I wondered whether Morris knew at the time.)
The news was relayed down the mountain, and an ingeniously-misleading coded summary (“Snow conditions bad. Advanced base abandoned yesterday. Awaiting improvement,” meaning, “Summit reached by Hillary and Tenzing yesterday”) was radioed to London in time for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation ... thus the title of the book.
This was written towards the end of Britain’s last colonial gasp so it’s inevitable there is a bit of paternalism concerning the Sherpas, etc, but like Eric Newby’s A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, it stands up to time remarkably well.
(James) Morris was a journalist back then, sent out by The Times to provide exclusive coverage of the climb, and this is a short but jaunty account that includes his efforts to get his bulletins down to Kathmandu without them being intercepted, observations about life in Nepal, and his experiences as a mountaineer - which he had never done before.
He is very self-deprecating about his struggles with ice-climbing and the rigours of high altitude, but his abilities were really rather remarkable as he made the ascent – twice – from Base Camp to Camp IV at over 21000 feet. He was up there to greet Hillary and Tenzing when they triumphantly returned – (though there is no mention of Hillary’s laconic comment to Lowe: “well George, we knocked the bastard off!” I wondered whether Morris knew at the time.)
The news was relayed down the mountain, and an ingeniously-misleading coded summary (“Snow conditions bad. Advanced base abandoned yesterday. Awaiting improvement,” meaning, “Summit reached by Hillary and Tenzing yesterday”) was radioed to London in time for Queen Elizabeth’s coronation ... thus the title of the book.
This was written towards the end of Britain’s last colonial gasp so it’s inevitable there is a bit of paternalism concerning the Sherpas, etc, but like Eric Newby’s A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush, it stands up to time remarkably well.
February 22, 2015
A charming and extremely readable account of the first successful climb of Everest, by the Times correspondent who was part of the expedition, Jan Morris, and who managed by dint of secret codes and subterfuge to get the news back to Britain in time for the Queen's coronation, without being scooped by rival newspapers.
The book was written in the 1950s, and as Morris says in the introduction to this edition, 'needs to be read with a strong dose of historical sympathy, for everything has changed since then', including the author, who was living and working as James Morris at the time of the expedition. Attitudes have certainly changed - there is more than a whiff of colonialism in the descriptions of the Nepali, Indian and Sherpa people in the book, which feels uncomfortable today - and yet despite that, Morris's humanity and exuberance shine through. She is often self-deprecating, painting a picture of herself as a bumbling amateur amongst professional climbers, her laces always undone and crampons loose, and yet she has the skill and strength to climb to Camp VI, no mean feat, to await the news of success or failure by the climbing team of Hillary and Tenzing.
Morris's descriptions of the landscape are lyrical and convey both the beauty and the awful isolation of extreme mountain landscapes. She also writes with a sort of impish humour; there's a lovely, Winnie-the-Pooh-ish exchange when she is coming down from the mountain, carrying the stupendous news of success, and unexpectedly meets a rival newspaperman:
'..we both stopped dead in our tracks.
'Well, well,' said Jackson.
'Ho, hum!' said I.
'Here you are then,' said Jackson.
'More or less,' said I.
'Weather's very pleasant, don't you think?'
'Not too bad.'
'Are you - er - leaving the mountain now?'
'Oh I've been up there so long, you know, I feel the need for a rest. It'll be nice to get down in the green again for a bit.'
'Hmm. Things going all right?'
'Not too badly.'
'Everybody all right?'
'More or less.'
'It'd be a pity if they didn't climb it this time.'
'A shame, a great shame. Still, there's always the French.'
'Well,' said Jackson.
'Ho ha!' said I.
And with a shake of the hand and a twisted smile at each other we parted...'
Morris writes beautifully of the pure elation felt when the mountain is successfully climbed; and yet, there is also sadness at the end of the book when she talks of the modern commercialisation of mountaineering. She comes across as a modest and honourable person, and it is these qualities with which she characterises that famous expedition: 'still that first ascent of 1953 remains, to my mind, one of the most honourable and innocent of the great adventures. It has not been diminished by the passing years. Mount Everest is littered now with the corpses of mountaineers of many nationalities, but not one of them lost their lives in 1953. None of the climbers vulgarly exploited their celebrity in the aftermath of success, and some of them have devoted their later years to the welfare of the Sherpa people. I thought them very decent men when I first met them, and essentially decent they remained.'
A wonderful read, highly recommended.
The book was written in the 1950s, and as Morris says in the introduction to this edition, 'needs to be read with a strong dose of historical sympathy, for everything has changed since then', including the author, who was living and working as James Morris at the time of the expedition. Attitudes have certainly changed - there is more than a whiff of colonialism in the descriptions of the Nepali, Indian and Sherpa people in the book, which feels uncomfortable today - and yet despite that, Morris's humanity and exuberance shine through. She is often self-deprecating, painting a picture of herself as a bumbling amateur amongst professional climbers, her laces always undone and crampons loose, and yet she has the skill and strength to climb to Camp VI, no mean feat, to await the news of success or failure by the climbing team of Hillary and Tenzing.
Morris's descriptions of the landscape are lyrical and convey both the beauty and the awful isolation of extreme mountain landscapes. She also writes with a sort of impish humour; there's a lovely, Winnie-the-Pooh-ish exchange when she is coming down from the mountain, carrying the stupendous news of success, and unexpectedly meets a rival newspaperman:
'..we both stopped dead in our tracks.
'Well, well,' said Jackson.
'Ho, hum!' said I.
'Here you are then,' said Jackson.
'More or less,' said I.
'Weather's very pleasant, don't you think?'
'Not too bad.'
'Are you - er - leaving the mountain now?'
'Oh I've been up there so long, you know, I feel the need for a rest. It'll be nice to get down in the green again for a bit.'
'Hmm. Things going all right?'
'Not too badly.'
'Everybody all right?'
'More or less.'
'It'd be a pity if they didn't climb it this time.'
'A shame, a great shame. Still, there's always the French.'
'Well,' said Jackson.
'Ho ha!' said I.
And with a shake of the hand and a twisted smile at each other we parted...'
Morris writes beautifully of the pure elation felt when the mountain is successfully climbed; and yet, there is also sadness at the end of the book when she talks of the modern commercialisation of mountaineering. She comes across as a modest and honourable person, and it is these qualities with which she characterises that famous expedition: 'still that first ascent of 1953 remains, to my mind, one of the most honourable and innocent of the great adventures. It has not been diminished by the passing years. Mount Everest is littered now with the corpses of mountaineers of many nationalities, but not one of them lost their lives in 1953. None of the climbers vulgarly exploited their celebrity in the aftermath of success, and some of them have devoted their later years to the welfare of the Sherpa people. I thought them very decent men when I first met them, and essentially decent they remained.'
A wonderful read, highly recommended.
March 9, 2023
Morris (then James Morris) recounts Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's famous ascent of the mountain, from her position as special correspondent for the London Times, there as an eyewitness to the climb.
First published in 1958, though Morris's narrative may bear some sense of sentimentalism tyoical of postwar Britain, it nonetheless transcends its era. Her vivid and keen-eyed description of the historic trek and the vivacious impressions of the local people and their customs, are interrupted briefly by the more matter-of-fact business of competitive journalism.
Morris’s initial speculation as to why anyone might attempt such a daunting undertaking gives way to the realisation that the aspiration and endeavour of a few, represent the whole of humanity, and written in such a way that we see how her own question was answered.
In her valedictory written 50 years later, she writes..
First published in 1958, though Morris's narrative may bear some sense of sentimentalism tyoical of postwar Britain, it nonetheless transcends its era. Her vivid and keen-eyed description of the historic trek and the vivacious impressions of the local people and their customs, are interrupted briefly by the more matter-of-fact business of competitive journalism.
Morris’s initial speculation as to why anyone might attempt such a daunting undertaking gives way to the realisation that the aspiration and endeavour of a few, represent the whole of humanity, and written in such a way that we see how her own question was answered.
In her valedictory written 50 years later, she writes..
But if Everesters age and die, if Everest itself is tarnished rather, if Coronations are out of mode and news can be flashed instantaneously by satellite anywhere on earth - still that first ascent of 1953 remains, to my mind, one if the most honourable and innocent of the great adventures. It has not been diminished by the passing years. Mount Everest is littered now with the corpses of mountaineers of many nationalities, but not one of them lost their lives in 1953. None of the climbers vulgarly exploited their celebrity in the aftermath of success, and some have devoted their later years to the welfare of the Sherpa people. I thought them very decent men when I first met them, and essentially decent they remained.
May 31, 2017
As much the story of an intrepid journalist’s rush for the scoop as a record of the first successful conquest of the world’s highest hill, Morris’s Coronation Everest is a bounding read written in the tradition of the ripping yarn. Morris covered the 1953 British assault on Everest for The Times of London, an assignment that sent him climbing up the Khumbu ice fall and the Western Cwm to Advance Camp 4, over 21,000 feet above sea level and only 8,000 feet from the roof of the world. He was one of the first to meet Hillary and Tenzing as they descended from the summit, a success that sent him skidding some 4,000 feet down to Base Camp in a single afternoon to quickly encode the great news and pass it to runners instructed to have it wired to London.
No matter that Hillary was a Kiwi and Tenzing a Sherpa, the expedition was led by a Briton, and the news of their success, which arrived in London on the morning of the young Queen’s coronation, was heralded as a harbinger of a new Elizabethan age. Parts of the story may strike you as surprisingly supportive of the monarchy, coming as it did from the pen of man (later woman) whose republican views are well known. But Morris’s prose, even at its Fleet Street brassiest, is a fascinating study both of the suppleness English punctuation and the possibilities for syntactic brilliance. If you love watching a tortuous climb followed by a breathtaking hop-and-drop rappel then you may well find the few hours spent reading Coronation Everest a storytelling and stylistic triumph.
No matter that Hillary was a Kiwi and Tenzing a Sherpa, the expedition was led by a Briton, and the news of their success, which arrived in London on the morning of the young Queen’s coronation, was heralded as a harbinger of a new Elizabethan age. Parts of the story may strike you as surprisingly supportive of the monarchy, coming as it did from the pen of man (later woman) whose republican views are well known. But Morris’s prose, even at its Fleet Street brassiest, is a fascinating study both of the suppleness English punctuation and the possibilities for syntactic brilliance. If you love watching a tortuous climb followed by a breathtaking hop-and-drop rappel then you may well find the few hours spent reading Coronation Everest a storytelling and stylistic triumph.
December 19, 2015
Fantastic! James (later Jan) Morris writes a short gem of a travel book, Fermor-esque, tho I'm no great expert on him. It's not really a mountaineering book ... so light on alpine detail that he never really explains why Hillary, not Hunt, the expedition leader, summited Everest. (Because Morris isn't writing from the higher camps, frinstance, he can't tell us what role those oxygen canisters played ... I would like to have known.) But it's a model of brilliant, light prose, and superb observational detail. G*d I wish more of us cd write like this.
May 8, 2017
Although the outcome is known, there is much to be gained from reading this book.
Apart from the specific history of the climb which 'conquered' Everest (a much-used but dubious claim about one of the great feats of human endeavour, and one not used by those involved), I was particularly interested in several aspects:
* The description of the expedition took place, the mechanics of it from someone outside the actual expedition;
* The non-mountaineer's view of mountain-climbing and experiences in the Khumbu ice-fall and Western Cwm especially. This was the experience many an armchair-Everesteer would wish for themselves, I am sure;
* The journalist's view of the people involved - all the other accounts I have read have been written from the point of view of being 'insiders' in the ecpedition - Hunt, Hillary, Tenzing, for example
* The mechanics of how Morris set up 'exclusive' media coverage from the mountain! It is amazing to think that it was a mere 50 years ago that messages were taking 8 days to reach London, when nowadays we hear live radio broadcasts of people dying in snowstorms, have immediate Internet access to expedition journals etc.
Thoroughly recommended for anyone with any interest at all in the subject.
Apart from the specific history of the climb which 'conquered' Everest (a much-used but dubious claim about one of the great feats of human endeavour, and one not used by those involved), I was particularly interested in several aspects:
* The description of the expedition took place, the mechanics of it from someone outside the actual expedition;
* The non-mountaineer's view of mountain-climbing and experiences in the Khumbu ice-fall and Western Cwm especially. This was the experience many an armchair-Everesteer would wish for themselves, I am sure;
* The journalist's view of the people involved - all the other accounts I have read have been written from the point of view of being 'insiders' in the ecpedition - Hunt, Hillary, Tenzing, for example
* The mechanics of how Morris set up 'exclusive' media coverage from the mountain! It is amazing to think that it was a mere 50 years ago that messages were taking 8 days to reach London, when nowadays we hear live radio broadcasts of people dying in snowstorms, have immediate Internet access to expedition journals etc.
Thoroughly recommended for anyone with any interest at all in the subject.
October 20, 2021
Jan Morris (when he was James) was the Times Correspondent assigned to the 1952 Commonwealth Everest Expedition led by James Hunt which succeeded in being the first to conquer Everest, placing Edmund Hilary and Tenzing Norgay on the top of the world. Morris managed to get the news to England (in the days before ubiquitous communications he used runners to take coded dispatches to the nearest radio transmitting station) just in time for the Coronation of Elizabeth Windsor as Queen of the UK.
What makes this book stand out is the quality of the prose. When Morris describes the mountain or the Sherpas or Nepal or anything he writes simply yet clearly and always uses the perfect word so that the images he conjures up are crystal clear. And he is original too. The classic mountaineer's biography might emphasize the perils and the hardships but Morris tells you of his discomforts and his difficulties so the reader is left in no doubt that the climb is arduous and that many aspects are thoroughly unpleasant. He is refreshingly realistic about the people he encounters too, and their customs and their foibles, and the disgusting food and drink he samples. This is no wonder-eyed traveller's tale but real life in all its shabby glory.
What makes this book stand out is the quality of the prose. When Morris describes the mountain or the Sherpas or Nepal or anything he writes simply yet clearly and always uses the perfect word so that the images he conjures up are crystal clear. And he is original too. The classic mountaineer's biography might emphasize the perils and the hardships but Morris tells you of his discomforts and his difficulties so the reader is left in no doubt that the climb is arduous and that many aspects are thoroughly unpleasant. He is refreshingly realistic about the people he encounters too, and their customs and their foibles, and the disgusting food and drink he samples. This is no wonder-eyed traveller's tale but real life in all its shabby glory.
June 24, 2017
A slim book and of its time but very good none the less. There is much fun in hearing about an age when getting news from Everest to Kathmandu took 8 days - or possibly 6 days if you paid the runner a bonus to go extra fast. Jan Morris's writing is engaging no matter what the subject and in this case better still because of the "story". She is self depreciating in a wonderfully believably way without sounding self serving. Who else would describe themselves as "spiraling and flapping in the snow like some tiresome sea creature on the sand"? Even though we know the outcome there is still a sense of drama in success which in Jan Morris's case was climbing higher than any other newspaper correspondent had done beforehand and getting the news of the first successful Everest ascent to London on the day of the queen's coronation which was 3 days later instead of usual 8. (Purchased at the New Tibet Book Store, Kathmandu, Nepal)
May 11, 2020
For this former reporter, there's nothing better than a scoop. When you get big news before anybody else, there's a unique sense of pride in your job. Jan Morris shares that pride at the end of Coronation Everest. As James Morris, he joined the 1953 Everest expedition as a correspondent for The Times, with exclusive rights to the story of that historic climb. The problem, however, is that other newspapers also wanted the news, and Morris sprinkles the anxiety of losing the scoop throughout her dispatches. Morris describes the trek to Everest, the Sherpas, the climate and geography of the land in a way that makes you feel like you're there, although some of those descriptions are victims of their times and the colonial attitudes the English had toward its dominion. Morris also builds the tension of the assault on the summit from her point of view, relating a story any journalist would want to experience.
May 2, 2022
A short account from the journalist who broke the story of Hillary’s conquest of Mount Everest. Makes clear the uncertainties that surrounded the expedition and the likelihood of success even at the end.
Jan Morris sets out the many challenges they faced, in particular in ensuring they broke the story first for The Times. The complexities of rapid communications are laid bare in a time no internet access, mobile phones or other modern tools. The anticipation is built not necessarily through whether they will conquer the mountain, but whether the author will succeed in getting the story out in secret and in time for the queen’s coronation.
A slightly confusing narrative if you do not realise that at the time of the conquest the author was a man, and has subsequently transitioned to a woman.
Jan Morris sets out the many challenges they faced, in particular in ensuring they broke the story first for The Times. The complexities of rapid communications are laid bare in a time no internet access, mobile phones or other modern tools. The anticipation is built not necessarily through whether they will conquer the mountain, but whether the author will succeed in getting the story out in secret and in time for the queen’s coronation.
A slightly confusing narrative if you do not realise that at the time of the conquest the author was a man, and has subsequently transitioned to a woman.
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March 23, 2020What a beautiful and lightfooted book. Morris herself now say the book needs to be read with a strong dose of historical sympathy, for everything has changed since then. As it had changed in 1953 as opposed to earlier expiditions: 'A fragrance of English oddness is left to us from those early expeditions.' People who now remember the news of the ascent of Mount Everest in conjunction with the coronation: 'nearly always speak of it in a tone of wistful affection, as a memory from simpler times.' The author asks for indulgence: 'Its excitements are those of long ago, and so are many of its attitudes.' It is an achievement that the book needs no indulgence, and even recreates the wistfulness...
June 14, 2020
5/10. This book chronicles Jan (James) Morris’ experience on Everest in 1953 and his reporting of the successful first summit by Sir Edmund Hillary. He wasn’t actually part of the summiting group so his story mainly revolves around his experiences at the base camps and his strategy to ensure that the London Times would be first to break the news, as he feared greatly that the story would be scooped if transmitted by radio off of the mountain. It’s not a brilliant read, but peaked my interest enough to make me want to read more books about climbing Everest.
December 20, 2021
This is the first Jan Morris book I have read and I will read more. I like her writing style.
To begin with I was a little worried she was going to look upon the sherpas as less than the paying climbers. But s/he proved the opposite and treated them fairly and with respect (that they deserved).
I have been to Nepal a couple times and love the country and loved hearing her account of the sherpas home. It reminded me of when I'd slept in one of these homes forty five years ago, happy memories, it is very different there now, it is very built up and busy with traffic.
Even though I knew she got the news of Hilary & Tenzin's summit back in time for the Coronation I still felt the tension of the mission in his/her writing.
To begin with I was a little worried she was going to look upon the sherpas as less than the paying climbers. But s/he proved the opposite and treated them fairly and with respect (that they deserved).
I have been to Nepal a couple times and love the country and loved hearing her account of the sherpas home. It reminded me of when I'd slept in one of these homes forty five years ago, happy memories, it is very different there now, it is very built up and busy with traffic.
Even though I knew she got the news of Hilary & Tenzin's summit back in time for the Coronation I still felt the tension of the mission in his/her writing.
November 27, 2025
Very of the period. Jan Morris's writing is good, but rather dated, which is forgiveable for something like this. Getting the news safely back to London was a very impressive feat considering all the challenges they faced. And Jan was halfway up the mountain on the day it was climbed, which is impressive in itself considering how much training people do these days and how much better equipment and logistics are.
August 6, 2022
A youthfully bumptious, sometimes florid but still quite invigorating account of the expedition that put Hillary and Tenzing atop Everest in 1953 and of the scoop-preserving shenanigans to keep other reporters at bay. There is not yet the mastery that Jan Morris will bring to bear, but it’s a lively read.
March 17, 2019
A matter of fact listing of how the author accompanied the first conquerors of Everest. The human foibles, characters are captured. Just a nice read overall. Sometimes its great to read a really well written piece about the human elements in a human achievement....
April 26, 2021
Wonderful account
Beautifully written the account of Hillary and Tenzing’s achievement is inspiring as it is gripping, even if you do know the outcome in advance. It is testament to the author that their account still causes pride and excitement, long after the events themselves.
Beautifully written the account of Hillary and Tenzing’s achievement is inspiring as it is gripping, even if you do know the outcome in advance. It is testament to the author that their account still causes pride and excitement, long after the events themselves.
October 22, 2024
A fascinating account of the Everest expedition of 1953, from someone who was there
It was particularly interesting to understand how messages were passed at the time & the secrecy that surrounded the transmission of the message back to London that the summit had been reached
It was particularly interesting to understand how messages were passed at the time & the secrecy that surrounded the transmission of the message back to London that the summit had been reached
May 11, 2023
Highly personal and engaging, showing a type of quiet personal development alongside the storytelling that I thoroughly enjoyed. Jan Morris was an accomplished journalist and writer for a reason!
May 27, 2023
Great to learn about the logistics of getting the messages out to the world… lots of complications that you wouldn’t think of today.
December 28, 2023
Trans icon!!! Read for work book club and felt ok about it but shout out to Jan
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December 29, 2024Everest. Coronation Day. Empire. Classic journalism. Compelling. Transgender author.
September 13, 2025
I love this book and the story! I read this right after finishing Edmund Hillary’s account of the first successful ascent of Mt Everest in his “High Adventure”. I would strongly encourage reading these two books in tandem, and I was lucky enough to obtain both of them from Hatchard’s in London.
Jan Morris’s account of the events painted more vividly some of the personalities of the team members of the assault party, and provided a perspective of a non-mountaineer being a shadow member of the team. I greatly valued this juxtaposition, which quenches the curiosity and nagging questions of any mountaineering reader — in the same vein as putting an average person next to an Olympic sportsman to see the vast difference.
The 2003 introduction and valedictory add nice touches to the book, and remind the reader to read with “historic sympathy” books from over half a century ago. The story will live very vividly in my mind.
Jan Morris’s account of the events painted more vividly some of the personalities of the team members of the assault party, and provided a perspective of a non-mountaineer being a shadow member of the team. I greatly valued this juxtaposition, which quenches the curiosity and nagging questions of any mountaineering reader — in the same vein as putting an average person next to an Olympic sportsman to see the vast difference.
The 2003 introduction and valedictory add nice touches to the book, and remind the reader to read with “historic sympathy” books from over half a century ago. The story will live very vividly in my mind.
January 24, 2025
Beautiful and evocative
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is beautifully written, thoughtful and highly evocative of an earlier age. There is an old fashioned innocence and a pervasive sense of duty in these cultures that have now passed away.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is beautifully written, thoughtful and highly evocative of an earlier age. There is an old fashioned innocence and a pervasive sense of duty in these cultures that have now passed away.
October 12, 2019
Jan Morris is such a wonderful writer - I admire and enjoy her work so much. I picked up this book in our local Oxfam shop - I was looking something slim to read on my journey to and from a trek on Hadrian's Wall, and while my journey was tiny in comparison to the ascent of Everest and the story of the race to get the news back first, it seemed appropriate. It did not disappoint. Dated, maybe, but vivid and gorgeous. It evoked all the colours of Nepal, and the scents of the high mountain pines too. Splendid.
February 6, 2018
If Hilary's attempt to summit succeeded, how would the news get from Nepal to the London Times, without being scooped by another paper? Morris was invited to join the expedition and used a system of runners and radios to carry the news, and wrote this memoir of the experience. I was blown away by the writing. So elegant and stylish, with some witty bits, and clear and informative about the physical details of the climb. I kept turning down pages where there were great sentences. Now I want to read Morris' Britannia trilogy, which I have in the garage.
May 3, 2009
This is the story of James Morris, The Times correspondent who accompanied the 1953 Everest expedition to 20,000 feet for the purpose of relaying exclusive coverage of the ascent to the British public at a time of unprecedented public enthusiasm. There is a certain mesmerizing quality to James (later Jan) Morris's writing, and no where else is this more true than in Coronation Everest -- except, perhaps, in that remarkable trilogy of the British Empire, Pax Britannica. This is a fine book, a quick read, and a wonderful introduction to the peculiar stylistic felicity of James/Jan Morris.
February 14, 2015
My girlfriend's father gave this to me as a birthday gift in October and I essentially read it so I could make conversation about it. It wouldn't have been on the list otherwise.
However, it works really well as a travelogue and a general recounting of the trials, teamwork, and triumph of the successful Everest ascent. It's a grand peek (I wrote "peak" in my original review, zomg) into a world that's far removed from our own, and - for a product of a flag-waving, tally-bally-ho! type of endeavour - it's actually a rather sensitive account.
I enjoyed it myself, but wouldn't really recommend it to others unless they're interested. A slight read.
However, it works really well as a travelogue and a general recounting of the trials, teamwork, and triumph of the successful Everest ascent. It's a grand peek (I wrote "peak" in my original review, zomg) into a world that's far removed from our own, and - for a product of a flag-waving, tally-bally-ho! type of endeavour - it's actually a rather sensitive account.
I enjoyed it myself, but wouldn't really recommend it to others unless they're interested. A slight read.
May 8, 2016
La carrera por la coronación del Everest contada por un personaje entrañable como es el autor, a quien se agradece su profesionalidad y entrega, su profunda implicación, y los tintes humanos que no quiso obviar al contar la historia de esta épica aventura, que además esconde un singular trasfondo extrapolable a batallas más mundanas.
Además de la cumbre geográfica, la otra cumbre, la periodística, la política, es otra maravillosa aventura que se conforma también como un retrato de nuestro tiempo; un tiempo en el que alcanzar el techo helado de la tierra no es proeza si no se cuenta, y si no se cuenta el primero.
Además de la cumbre geográfica, la otra cumbre, la periodística, la política, es otra maravillosa aventura que se conforma también como un retrato de nuestro tiempo; un tiempo en el que alcanzar el techo helado de la tierra no es proeza si no se cuenta, y si no se cuenta el primero.
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