Community Reviews
Wonderful historical fiction set in Penang, South Africa, and China. It follows the life of Lesley and Robert Hamlyn as they lived in Penang for many years. When the author, "Willie" Somerset Maughm, visits, Lesley tells him a tale which later becomes one of his short stories. She also meets Sun Yat-Sen, a revolutionary looking to change China. I became fascinated by the stories of the Taiping Rebellion and wanted to learn more about Dr. Sun Yat Sen and life in China in the early twentieth century. I had never heard about Hong Siu Chuan, who had feverish dreams and claimed to be the son of God and brother of Jesus and then tried to convert Chinese people to Christianity. I did not know that much about the Manchus, who breached the great wall, vanquished the Ming emperor, and forced men to wear their hear in queue as a sign of their domination over the Chinese. I love it when I read a book inspired by real events and it opens a whole door to new learning. I've already planned on taking out a few more books about China to learn more.
Historical Fiction is a new genre for me, and I’m loving it. I learned so much about Somerset Maugham as a writer, Sun Yat-sen (revolutionist) Ethel Proudlock (based on her murder conviction) and society in Malaysia in the early 20s. Well crafted book. One criticism is the slow start. I listened to the audio version and nearly gave up. At 20% in, it finally picked up.
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