Palace Of Heavenly Pleasure, The

A group of foreigners in the northeastern town of Shishan finds the status quo upset when Helen Frances, a young woman with a middle class upbringing but a fatal flaw, arrives and falls in love with the Hon Henry Manners. Will she betray her solid but possibly rather dull fiance While Helen Frances and Manners meet in the Palace of Heavenly Pleasure - Shishan's brothel, and the centre for all social activity in the town - the Chinese, who were quarrelling among themselves, are directing their anger towards all foreigners, and the position of Helen Frances, her father, her fiance and their friends, is becoming very unsure. The most astonishing range of characters awaits you in this novel; the wicked brothel-keeper Madam Liu and her sadistic son Ren Ren, the pragmatic, rational missionary Dr Airton, the American zealot Septimus Harding, the equivocal Mandarin. Not to mention the wonderfully complicated anti-hero Henry Manners, the prostitutes Fan Yimei and Shen Ping, the bandit Iron Man Wang, the Mongolian shaman. And the ingenue, Helen Frances herself, whose innocence covers an unorthodox curiosity . . . Review: A rattling good read. Full of love and loss and guts and gore and derring-do, this is as good as an adventure story gets . . . Williams is a master - The Times Absolutely wonderful - that very rare thing, a spellbinding novel which really draws the reader into its world - Penny Vincenzi Intrigue, adventure and romance await, but it is Williams's vivid knowledge of China and the complexities which lie within the sleeping dragon that make this a worthy read - The Straits Times If you like derring-do, murderous characters, interesting sexual practices and intrigue, this is for you . . . indulge in a heady, passionate drama. - Sunday Express Skilfully depicts the cultural disconnect between Westerners and Chinese through a sharply drawn cast of characters who confront romance, adventure and stark moral dilemmas - Newsweek This is a rollicking monster of a book . . . At the same time, it's a valuable and scholarly examination of what history has come to term the Boxer Rebellion. On both levels, as a good yarn and as fascinating political detail, this is a compelling read - South China Morning Post Author Biography: The son of a Hong Kong Taipan, Adam Williams was born and raised in Asia, though educated in the United Kingdom. His family has been in China since the 1880s and he has fulfilled his destiny by joining Jardine Matheson and rising to head its operations in China as well as those of Jardine Fleming. He has undertaken an expedition by camel into the heart of the Taklamaken Desert to seek the lost cities of the Silk Road, and having survived this, competed in the 'Rhino Charge'. He is also an OBE.