The Moth and the Mountain

September 15, 2020
The tale of an eccentric plan to be the first known European to scale Mount Everest. "The idea was mad any way you looked at it," writes New Yorker contributor Caesar of the plan British adventurer Maurice Wilson (1898-1934) cooked up to fly to Nepal and crash-land his plane at the foot of Everest, then climb solo to the summit. Never mind that Wilson, a shellshocked veteran of World War I and survivor of the Spanish flu, had no experience flying or climbing. He overcame those shortcomings by walking the 200 miles from Bradford to London in hobnail boots several times and, yes, learning to fly. "Wilson was preparing himself purely to endure," writes Caesar, "as if toughness were the only quality required in the Himalayas." It was not, and while it's probably a spoiler to note that his expedition was spectacularly unsuccessful, it was an example of derring-do in the service of personal redemption--perhaps. Wilson was clearly in need of healing: He abandoned wives at the drop of a hat, gave little attention to the ordinary business of making a living, and may have been a transvestite. "If Wilson was a transvestite," writes the author in this loopy, sometimes labored narrative, "he knew how to source a wardrobe." He was also undeniably brave. Caesar has an unfortunate habit of addressing himself in the second person as he recounts how he came to the long-forgotten (though documented) story: "You read the literature on Wilson. It's nowhere near satisfactory. He is dismissed by generalists as a crank, and by alpine historians as a reckless amateur--a footnote in the history of mountaineering." Still, he turns in a multifaceted tale full of learned speculation--at least one climber claims that Wilson made the summit--and intriguing minor mysteries. It's not Into Thin Air, but Caesar's story has plenty of virtues all the same. A welcome addition to the library of oddball adventurers.

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October 1, 2020
Maurice Wilson was a middle-class Englishman who, like his brothers and most of his generation, suffered greatly during WWI. The experience of combat and attendant trauma left a hole in Wilson's soul that he strove to fill. Caesar (Two Hours: The Quest to Run the Impossible Marathon, 2015) passionately tracked down this elusive character through scant sources and engagingly depicts Wilson and his times in ebullient and well-written prose. The Moth is the airplane Wilson flew, alone, from England to the Indian border with Nepal despite having little flying experience and with much of the imperial government opposed to his quest. The mountain is the big one, Everest, unconquered at the time, but which Wilson, again with no mountaineering experience, vowed to climb to the summit alone. Caesar manages to brilliantly capture Wilson's epic adventure and how it encapsulates so much of the disillusionment and courageous efforts of the interwar period. Caesar has created a widely appealing and affecting character study, microhistory, story of love and loss, and inquiry into some surprising effects of trauma and personal tragedy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

October 12, 2020
Journalist Caesar (Two Hours) delivers an evocative portrait of the life and times of British adventurer Maurice Wilson (1898–1934), who captivated the public’s attention with his doomed attempt to climb Mount Everest in 1934. Despite the best efforts of the British government to stop him, Wilson flew his Gipsy Moth biplane (which he had only recently learned to pilot) from England to India, hired three sherpas, and walked more than 300 miles to the base of the world’s tallest mountain disguised as a Tibetan priest. Drawing on archival records and love letters Wilson wrote to a friend’s wife, Caesar highlights Wilson’s middle-class upbringing and military service in WWI, where his battalion was nearly wiped out in Germany’s spring offensive of 1918. After the war, Wilson burned through relationships, suffered a nervous breakdown, and traveled the world. Back in England, he turned to fasting, Indian mysticism, and the power of positive thinking to recover from depression and prepare for his Everest expedition. Caesar skillfully explores the political, intellectual, and spiritual movements of the era, as well as Wilson’s psychic scars from the war. Though his climb ended in tragedy, Wilson inspired Reinhold Messner to make the first solo ascent of Everest in 1980. This entertaining, well-researched chronicle is a valuable addition to mountaineering history.

Starred review from November 1, 2020

In 1933, Maurice Wilson (1898-1934) took off from England in a biplane with the intention of flying solo to Mt. Everest and then climbing it unsupported. This plan was audacious for multiple reasons, including his inability to fly, lack of mountaineering skills, and that he was forbidden to do so. As journalist and author Caesar tells in this fast-paced narrative, Wilson was a rebel and a World War I veteran who spent the postwar years marrying, divorcing, and traveling extensively. The author describes how, while recuperating from an illness, Wilson read about others taking on Everest and began to see the mountain as a place for "personal and metaphysical rebirth." The book reads like a novel with twists and turns, as Caesar shows how British officials worked to discourage Wilson, who ended up flying to Darjeeling instead of Nepal. Forbidden from leaving Darjeeling, Wilson disguised himself as a Tibetan priest and walked to Everest. He died during his second climbing attempt in 1934. Throughout, Caesar incorporates new information in this historical account, including previously unpublished letters and family documents. VERDICT Wilson has long been a footnote in Everest exploration, but this thorough and fascinating biography will remedy that. For readers of exploration, adventure, and Everest history.--Margaret Atwater-Singer, Univ. of Evansville Lib., IN

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