Roger Frison-Roche
Methuen & Co Ltd, 1961. First English edition published in Great Britain. First published under the title Retour a la Montagne by B Arthaud, Paris, 1957.
Translated by Hugo Charteris.
Hardback; 145 x 200 mm; light blue boards with silver titles on spine; 239 pages. Original unclipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Biro.
The book is in good condition. The binding is sound. There is a tear at the top of the front of the dust jacket and chipping along the tops of the jacket. The bottom of the spine of the dust jacket shows minor wear. The back of the dust cover is discoloured and marked. The inside of the dust cover shows discoloration and staining. The top edges of the leaves show discoloration and foxing visible when the book is closed. There is bumping to the bottom of the spine and to the top of the back cover. There are creases at the top of pages 215 – 218 near the gutter.
Roger Frison-Roche (1906 – 1999) was a French alpinist, explorer, and writer. In this book Brigitte, widow of Zian the guide, returns to Chamonix to bear his child; but the young Parisienne is ostracized by the villagers who bitterly resent the intrusion of this “foreigner”. The main theme is the gradual acceptance of Brigitte, first by Zian’s family, and, after many painful rebuffs, by the Chamonix guides.
At every turn the mountains have an important role to play, and the author displays his profound knowledge of them in thrilling descriptions – particularly of two famous climbs, the Grepon by the Mer de Glace, and the north face of the Pointe Walker of the Grandes Jorasses.