Advanced Warning – Bristol Festival of Ideas – 17/9/12 – Paul French & Robert Bickers – Old China’s Secret Worlds Revealed

Some advance warning about this event which is part of the Bristol Festival of Ideas…

Paul French & Robert Bickers

Old China’s Secret Worlds Revealed
17 September 2012, 18.30-19.30
Foyles, Cabot Circus, Bristol

China has often remained inscrutable to Westerners but new research is opening up aspects of Chinese history hidden for decades and centuries. In his The Scramble for China: Foreign Devils in the Qing Empire, 1832-1914, Robert Bickers, Professor of History at Bristol University, looks at the way China attracted the attention of British and European powers in the early nineteenth century. He discusses this with Paul French, author of Midnight in Peking: The Murder That Haunted the Last Days of Old China, the shocking story of Pamela Warner, teenage daughter of the city’s former British consul Edward Werner murdered in 1937. Despite an intensive search, the murder was soon forgotten amid the carnage of the Japanese invasion by all but her father. 75 years later, deep in the Scotland Yard archives, French accidentally came across his lost case file. Unveiling an undercover sex cult, heroin addicts and disappearing brothels, the truth behind the crime can now be told – and is more disturbing than anyone could imagine. Both talk of a hidden China and one that has much to tell us about China today.

More details here

Thanks to the support of Foyles, this event is free but pre-booking is essential. To reserve a place click HERE on the Eventbrite link. Please note that you will need to bring your ticket and present this on the door to gain entry.

Events start punctually and, out of consideration to other audience members and speakers, our policy is not to admit or issue refunds to latecomers. Please allow enough time to collect your ticket/s from the relevant box office (if these haven’t already been posted to you), and make sure to arrive before the advertised start time to take your seat/s. The Festival of Ideas endeavours to hold its events in venues that are accessible to all, but if you have specific access concerns it is advisable to contact the venue direct.