The Cockney Who Sold the Alps by Alan Mcnee

The Cockney Who Sold the Alps by Alan Mcnee

Albert Smith is one of the most famous Victorians of whom you've probably never heard. During his lifetime, he was a household name, thrilling audiences with his Ascent of Mont Blanc show at London's Egyptian Hall. An inveterate showman, Smith was also a doctor, journalist, raconteur, novelist, travel writer, and playwright. His many talents were outstripped only by his boundless self-belief and huge personality. Even Queen Victoria described him in her journal as inimitable, an epithet Smith's contemporary Charles Dickens liked to reserve for himself. Although Smith died aged only 43, he managed to pack much incident into his short life. He was robbed by highwaymen in Italy, narrowly escaped death in a hot air ballooning accident, and dodged arrest in Paris during the June Days Uprising of 1848. He also got caught up in the row over Dickens's affair with Ellen Ternan. While his bumptiousness made Smith a divisive figure, many saw in him the Victorian ideal of the self-made man: energetic, imaginative, and ready to seize any new opportunity. As Alan McNee explains in this lively biography, it was his intrepid ascent of Mont Blanc in 1851 that propelled Smith to stardom. His subsequent show inspired 'Mont Blanc mania', encouraging participation in mountaineering as a popular pursuit. The Cockney Who Sold the Alps is a story of ambition, spectacle, and the fleeting nature of celebrity.

Alan McNee is a former journalist. He completed his PhD at Birkbeck, University of London in 2013. His first book was a biography of the Victorian journalist, showman, and traveller, Albert Smith.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781906469528
ISBN 10	1906469520
Title	The Cockney Who Sold the Alps
Author	Alan Mcnee
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Victorian Secrets
Year published	2015-05-14
Number of pages	244
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.