Wallis at the Meridian Society – SOAS – 19/7/25

Junks on the Min River, Fuzhou, 1914

Foochow (Fuzhou) Junks photographed on the Lower Min River, 1914, photographer unknown…

Talking Old Macao on the Asian Review of Books Podcast

Talking old Macao on the Asian Review of Books Podcast with Nick Gordon and my recent essay collection Destination Macao (Blacksmith Books) made me want to dig some old photos – these from 2009…. Listen to the podcast here

Wallis at The Meridian Society, SOAS, London – July 19, 3.30pm

I’ll be talking Wallis Simpson in China at The Meridian Society, SOAS, London – July 19, 3.30pm (and with slides, and books for sale – what more could you want!)

Date: Saturday July 19th 2025

Time: 3:30 pm

Venue: the Djam Lecture Theatre (DLT) at SOAS University of London, 10 Thornhaugh St, London WC1H 0XG

Please RSVP by the 1st of July by emailing themeridiansociety@gmail.com.

Her Lotus Year – Kindle 99p Offer

A UK e-book bargain!!! Wallis Simpson: Her Lotus Year in 1920s China by Paul French is just 99p in ebook – for a limited time only!

‘Compelling’ Dr Amanda Foreman
‘Fascinating’ Lisa See
‘Riveting’ Anne Sebba
‘Surprising’ Anne de Courcy

Macau Closer: Soldier of Fortune (1954)

My latest column for Macau Closer magazine is a look back at Ernest K Gann’s 1954 novel Soldier of Fortune that takes place between Hong Kong and Macau and later became a Hollywood movie with Clark Gable and Susan Haywood. How does Macau come out of the novel…and the movie? Click here to read….

Wallis in China – UK Paperback Cover Reveal – July 10 2025

I’m rather pleased with this UK paperback of Her Lotus Year…. thanks to all at Elliot & Thompson in London… many thanks to Anne Sebba, Amanada Foreman and Lisa See for their blurbs and also to Caroline Moorehead in The Spectator and the legendary Nicky Haslam in The Oldie.

Available from July 10 everywhere books are sold in the UK… (and a bargain at £10.99 I reckon…)

Anonymous Sketches from Canton and Macao 1840s

These sketches recently came up for auction – very interesting indeed. Clearly the artist was in Macao and possibly near Canton, in or around the time of the First Opium War (1839-1842) – certainly, as Captain John Spencer Churchill died at Macao in 1840 these sketches are slightly later. The sketch of the attack on Canton in 1840 suggests the artist was with the Navy in China – perhaps HMS Volage or HMS Hyacinth. Sadly though they remain unattributed.

The Protestant Graveyard, Macao, c.1840