The Ascent Of Rum Doodle

Sep 13, 2025 5:38 AM

Author:W E Bowman,Bill Bryson

An English comic novel about a World War II expedition to a Himalayan peak.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY BILL BRYSON

An outrageously funny spoof about the ascent of a 40,000-and-a-half-foot peak, The Ascent of Rum Doodle has been a cult favourite since its publication in 1956. Led by the reliably under-insightful Binder, a team of seven British men -- including Dr Prone (constantly ill), Jungle the route finder (constantly lost), Constant the diplomat (constantly arguing) -- and 3,000 Yogistani porters sets out to conquer the highest peak in the Himalayas.

Reviews

I just love this book. Everything about it is nearly perfect... hugely enjoyable and brilliantly sustained.

—— From the introduction by Bill Bryson

An amazing book about mountain climbing from 1956. Laugh-out-loud literature

—— Tim Key , Guardian

This wonderfully funny parody of adventure stories was first written in the 1950s but is just as fresh today with a truly brilliant comic narrator whose commentary on the expedition members is unintentionally hilarious. Buy it

—— Sunday Mirror

Wonderful. Rum Doodle does for mountaineering what Three Men in a Boat did for Thames-going or Catch-22 did for the Second World War. It is simply an account of the leader of an expedition up Rum Doodle, a 40,000 and a half foot peak in the Himalayas, in the same way that Scoop is simply a tale about newsgathering in Africa. The tone is nearer to Pooter than anyone else I can think of, but the flavour is all W.E. Bowman's own

—— Sunday Times

This gentle, deadly parody of the tight-arsed old school of British exploration narratives is seemingly a cult book among mountaineers, but it has been virtually unknown to the reading public since its first publication in 1956

—— Guardian

A veritable feast... incredibly enjoyable... a marvellous romp

—— Geographical Magazine

A hilarious spoof and perfect parody of Britishness...it shames what now claims to be comedy

—— The Times

Sociologically and psychologically as observant as ever

—— SPECTATOR

Book of the Month: An intuitive and sympathetically observed piece of writing

—— GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

Trollope writes with customary compassion and humanity in this heartwarming and engaging novel

—— DAILY EXPRESS

A very superior work of women's fiction... an exceedingly skilled analysis of the relationship between different generations of women and how the power shifts as the old, as they must, get old and the young move on... it is a story told beautifully

—— SUNDAY EXPRESS

The legendary Ms Trollope triumphs yet again, with her latest slick of classy chick-lit

—— HEAT

This thoroughly engaging, intelligent, literate novel

—— WASHINGTON POST

The brilliantly observed portrayal of family life is wonderfully compelling - and a story many will be able to identify with. ****

—— CLOSER

Incisive, smart and at times darkly funny

—— Gillian McAllister

Astonishingly powerful

—— Nicola Moriarty

Brilliantly observed

—— Kathryn Hughes

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