Paths of Glory is a novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

 by English author Jeffrey Archer based on the story of George Mallory

George Mallory

George Herbert Leigh Mallory was an English mountaineer who took part in the first three British expeditions to Mount Everest in the early 1920s....

. It was published by St. Martin's Press

St. Martin's Press

St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...

 on 3 March 2009. It claims that George Mallory, an Englishman, was the first to conquer Mount Everest

Mount Everest

Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...

 -- before Sir Edmund Hillary. It caused a controversy in New Zealand, with a major newspaper the Dominion Post

The Dominion Post (Wellington)

The Dominion Post is a metropolitan broadsheet newspaper published in Wellington, New Zealand, owned by the Australian Fairfax group, owners of The Age, Melbourne, and The Sydney Morning Herald.- Foundation :...

 calling it an insult

Insult

An insult is an expression, statement which is considered degrading and offensive. Insults may be intentional or accidental...

 to Sir Edmund Hillary.