The Only Genuine Jones is the latest in a line of books that cross the boundaries between being a mountaineering book and a great story in its own right. While books like Echoes, Fiva and, to an extent, Cold Wars have crossed this divide over recent years Alex Roddie's book takes a different route, setting well known, iconic, figures of mountaineering history in a fictional tale rather than retelling real life adventures mixed with insights into the central characters. In setting such well known (at least in the world of mountaineering) real life figures in a fictional story the author has taken something of a gamble, particularly when combined with a re-writing of history, but the result is a book that appeals to both the mountaineering and general fiction markets in a unique way. Described by the author as "an alternative look at the history of mountaineering" while factually correct understates the book's qualities as a story.
Based in the late 1890's The Only Genuine Jones examines the "what if" scenario of the invention of crampons and twin, short, ice axes several decades earlier than reality through the medium of a fast moving, tightly knit, adventure Legendary characters from Norman Collie to Oscar Eckenstein and Raeburn to the Abraham brothers play their parts in a story that sets Jones and the infamous Aleister Cowley on a collision course for fame and glory that's reminiscent of Holmes and Moriarty in more than just period. As the plot develops it races from fraud to conspiracy and beyond while the central characters commit everything to their cause. Crowley seeks revenge while Jones seeks redemption in a period where honour meant everything and Britain still felt the Alps was it's personal playground. From the depiction of Victorian London to the specifics of climbing routes and hostelries still existing today the author weaves a tale that combines fact and fiction seamlessly.
Characters are blended from the same mix of fact and fiction, making them as believable amongst the climbing and mountaineering community as the storyline is to the non mountaineer and while famous events, like the first ascent of the Matterhorn's North Face, may be transported in time the timeline remains entirely believable. Central to the plot the characters of Jones and Crowley are again a seamless mix of fact and fiction, fitting comfortably into their environment and the period in such a manner it has the reader scrambling for the history books to check their existing understanding of mountain history isn't really 40 years out of sync.
As a story The Only Genuine Jones mixes a heady combination of mystery and subterfuge in a fast moving tale that contains all the classic ingredients of revenge, murder and romance. While the attention to detail captures the reader with a mountaineering background it in no way relies on it, standing alone as a thoroughly rivetting tale in the best traditions of story-telling. The familiarity of the locations to today's climbers and mountaineers adds to the attraction but to the non-climber the descriptions add significantly to the overall feel of a time 100 years ago when society ran along somewhat different lines from today.
Read The Only Genuine Jones as a novel and it's a real page turner, building up a flawed but believable hero in parallel with a villain that manages to elicit feelings of sympathy at times. Read it as a mountaineering book and you'll start questioning your own knowledge of history. Either way you'll be left wanting more.
Note: This article was restored from the archives. It's published creation date is inaccurate.
