In 1838 the author of this book climbed Mont Blanc. A few years earlier several mountaineers had been killed in an avalanche and the porters and guides she approached in the village of Chamonix at the foot of the mountain were loath to accompany her. In those days if a man climbed a mountain for fun he was considered a masochistic eccentric. For a woman to do the same thing was absolutely unheard of. In a 15-day period she hatched her plan, organized provisions and hired her retinue. Throughout the climb Henriette kept a diary, which she transcribed into a green notebook but was always too shy to publish. It was unearthed by her family and is present in this account.