Destination Peking at the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong – 28/4/21

Posted: April 26th, 2021 | No Comments »

ONLINE LECTURE (via Zoom)
 
Destination Peking
 
Wednesday 28th April 2021 – 7PM HK time

RSVP: membership@royalasiaticsociety.org.hk

(BTW: members of RAS Shanghai & Beijing have reciprocal rights to attend)

New York Times bestselling author Paul French (Midnight in Peking, City of Devils) returns to the Chinese capital to tell 18 true stories of fascinating people who visited the city in the first half of the 20th century.

From the ultra-wealthy Woolworths heiress Barbara Hutton and her husband the Prince Mdivani, to the poor “American girl” Mona Monteith who worked in the city as a prostitute; from socialite Wallis Simpson and novelist JP Marquand, who held court on the rooftop of the Grand Hôtel de Pékin, to Hollywood screenwriter Harry Hervey, who sought inspiration walking atop the Tartar Wall; from Edgar and Helen Foster Snow – Peking’s ‘It’ couple of 1935 – to Martha Sawyers, who did so much to aid China against Japan in World War II; Destination Peking brings a lost pre-communist era back to life.

“Paul French resurrects a Peking that was filled with glitter as well as evil, but was never known for being dull.” – The Economist

Discount Code: RASHK members can get 10% off the cover price (and free delivery within Asia) by using discount code RAS21 at checkout on www.blacksmithbooks.com.

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