UK New Book Cover Reveal – The Last Emperor of China: Twilight of the Forbidden City – 27/8/26
Posted: April 29th, 2026 | No Comments »So here it is… my new book, The Last Emperor, out this August – a retelling with many new sources of the story of Puyi, Wanrong, their tutors and the last days of the Forbidden City…
Introducing the forthcoming UK edition of The Last Emperor of China: Twilight of the Forbidden City (Elliot and Thompson) – out this August 27th in the UK, Ireland and a few other places you guys might buy books such as Hong Kong. As usual the book’s in hardback and available as a e-book or audio-book too. There’s plenty of maps and photos of course… see the book blurb below…
You may think you know the story of the last emperor, seen the Bertolucci movie, done the tour… but there’s now so much more to know from newly unearthed archives – diaries, letters and photographs – in the US, UK and China that shed major new light on this old tale – the lives of Puyi and Wanrong as well as their tutors Reginald Johnston and the previously massively overlooked Isabel Ingram… these new sources reveal so much about the last days of imperial life in the Forbidden City…
PS: There will be a US edition along a little later in November, so fear not. For more details on that and pre-ordering links click here
Step into the otherworldly splendour of the Forbidden City, its red walls and golden rooftops shimmering at the heart of Peking…
In the early 1920s, China’s boy ruler Puyi and his child bride Wanrong were sequestered within the ancient citadel: a city-within-a-city, a haven prohibited to all except the imperial family and its scheming courtiers, fawning servants and corrupt eunuchs. An emperor without an empire, Puyi did not know from one day to the next whether he would experience restoration or assassination. Two years later, the couple was expelled into eternal exile, bringing an end to the centuries-old Manchu dynasty.
This extraordinary scenario has captivated us for generations – but we have not known the full story. Now, bestselling historian Paul French draws upon previously unpublished sources, including memoirs, diaries and letters, to take us deep inside the hidden world of Puyi and Wanrong and the cast of colourful characters that surrounded them. In this crucial period decisions of great consequence were made that would determine the future of the royal couple – and of China.
What emerges is a sweeping tale of tradition and revolution, of duty and intrigue – and a young married couple facing a hostile world. It is a mesmerising portrait of a dying regime: the final days of Imperial China as they have never been seen before.
Pre-order links for The Last Emperor of China
Pre-orders are of course a massive help to any author and have a real impact ensuring shops and online retailers really get behind a book and author. So if you’re able to pre-order please do with any of the major UK book retailers below, or get your local indie store to order it in as soon as possible….
More to Come….
I’ll post a list of launch events around the UK later in the year – Edinburgh and London for sure – and if anyone out there wants me to come and talk about the book at your bookshop, university of organisation, well here I am!
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