The Uncrowned King of Mont Blanc

The Uncrowned King ofMont Blanc by Peter Foster is the story of Thomas Graham Brown: scientist, mountaineer and psychological paradox, most famous for his groundbreaking routes on the Brenva Face of Mont Blanc and his turbulent relationship with Frank Smythe.

Peter Foster is a retired consultant physician. Educated at Westminster and Christ Church, Oxford, he qualified in medicine at St Thomas's Hospital Medical School. After junior posts in Stoke, Nottingham and Leeds he was appointed consultant gastroenterologist in Macclesfield. His climbing career followed a similarly conventional route, from Harrison's Rocks, where his father held the rope, via North Wales and Ben Nevis in winter to the Alps, where ambition was not always matched by ability and resulted in a more than usual number of unplanned bivouacs. While still a medical student he was one of a two-man trip to the Himalaya; little was achieved but it provided a memorable experience. He has been a member of the Alpine Club since 1975 and still climbs in the Alps most summers but his long-held ambition to climb Mont Blanc by one of Graham Brown's routes up the Brenva Face remains unfulfilled. His interest in mountaineering history goes back to schooldays when he first started book collecting. He has contributed articles to the Alpine Journal, and The Uncrowned King of Mont Blanc is his first book. He is married to Kate, and has three grown-up children and two grandchildren. He lives on the edge of the Peak District.