Over her lotus year Wallis became a fairly regular user of the coastal steamer network despite them being prone to strikes and pirate attacks. With China in warlord chaos and the train system in disarray coastal steamers were essential of basic. Wallis took steamers from Hong Kong to Shanghai and then Shanghai to Tientsin in 1924 and then back to Shanghai in 1925.
Her Lotus Year: China, the Roaring Twenties and the Making of Wallis Simpson is available everywhere in hardback, e-book and audiobook now…
My new ChinaRhyming Substack – It’s Hong Kong International Literary Festival week….here’s what I’m up to plus DPRK Defectors for the BBC, Gilbert & George for the Mekong Review & the down low on Shijia Hutong for the RAS Beijing… click here to read
Heads Up: On March 5th I’ll be at Hong Kong Central Library talking with Steven Schwankert, author of The Six (The History Press), a book uncovering the untold stories of Chinese survivors from the Titanic…. all part of Hong Kong International Literary Festival 2025…. tickets here….
A trio of albums purchased in Shanghai sometime around c.1900-1912….(see here and here, here and here). And a Japanese made album (date unknown) that features a Chinese junk-like craft on the cover.
A new ChinaRhyming Substack this week with everything I’m up to at the HKILF (March 1-8) & in HK… & then mid-month up in Beijing including events at the old Grand Hotel de Pekin & on the legendary Shijia Hutong. Sign up – it’s free (& some links to articles too) – click here to sign up
Bookazine HK Author Spotlight! Dive into the mind of acclaimed author Paul French as our Bookazine editorial team reveals his inspirations and insights. Curious? Don’t miss our latest blog post ⬇️
But wait, there’s more! Paul French will be in HK next month for the Hong Kong International Literary Festival as well as an intimate evening at Bookazine Social in Tai Kwun on March 13th from 6:30 PM to 7:30 PM. Paul will discuss his latest masterpiece, “Her Lotus Year,” a mesmerizing exploration of Wallis Simpson’s life in China during a vibrant era.
Coming Sunday March 9 – BBC Radio 3 8pm (& then on BBC iPlayer everywhere) – The Defectors – click here – inspired by the the defection of North Korea’s Deputy Ambassador to the UK, interwoven with accounts of people who made the journey from North Korea to the UK.
My thanks to Paul Midler (of the entertaining Poorly Made in China) for images of this copy of the rare Chungking Directory, the wartime guide to the who, what, where of the Chinese capital…. particularly interesting are the number of foreigners registered in the city in 1943 during the war (as detailed below including a category for “White Russian”) and one solitary “stateless” person (apparently the White Russians were not considered stateless in WW2 Chungking). Compare those growing numbers of allied nationals to 1939, which included the Germans (all gone by 1943)…..
