His Chinese Concubine – a small mystery perhaps solved

It’s official – writer, journalist and all round clever guy Chris Taylor is smarter than me!! I’ve got to admit as he solved my mystery around the book His Chinese Concubine and Graham Greene in my last post. Chris (I think correctly) has identified the book His Chinese Concubine as being by the French author Maurice Dekobra (1885-1973). It’s original French title was Tu Seras Courtisane and published in 1924 in French by Editions Baudiniere and in 1927 in English. Dekobra was extremly well known and popular between the wars and widely translated though he is all but largely forgotten now. He doesn’t appear to have a direct China connection but did serve in India with the French Army.

It does seem Greene was right to use the book as a symbol of his characters depravity, at least mildly. Tu Seras Courtisane was volume 4 of Dekobra’s “manuels pour adultes”. The book’s strapline was “You will be a Courtesan”.

Anyway, I might have the wrong Dekobra book but this all seems highly plausible and thanks to Chris Taylor – in return I can offer him nothing but a plug for his new book – Harvest Season – “When a travel writer retreats to an idyllic valley in the mountains of Southwest China where the weed grows wild on the mountain slopes, he finds his vision of paradise pitted against a new breed of travelers who want to bring the party to town. The scene is set for a clash that will change the valley forever.”