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Imperial China #1
Dynasty
THE SEKLOONG DYNASTY
A towering novel alive with passion that spans generations from the decline of the last empress to the rise of Mao Tse-Tung:
SIR JONATHAN--Illegitimate son of a Chinese mother and Irish father, he built a fabulous trade empire and dared anyone to defy his rule...
SIR CHARLES--Profligate and flamboyant, he put lust before honor and married a woman he could neither understand nor dominate...
MARY--She married into an alien culture and discovered the depths of her passion in adultery and the heights of her glory in a man's world...
JAMES--A child of shame and love, he grew to manhood to become a leader in a land divided by politics and blood...
A towering novel alive with passion that spans generations from the decline of the last empress to the rise of Mao Tse-Tung:
SIR JONATHAN--Illegitimate son of a Chinese mother and Irish father, he built a fabulous trade empire and dared anyone to defy his rule...
SIR CHARLES--Profligate and flamboyant, he put lust before honor and married a woman he could neither understand nor dominate...
MARY--She married into an alien culture and discovered the depths of her passion in adultery and the heights of her glory in a man's world...
JAMES--A child of shame and love, he grew to manhood to become a leader in a land divided by politics and blood...
860 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
63 people are currently reading
351 people want to read
About the author
Robert S. Elegant
37 books14 followersRobert Sampson Elegant (born March 7, 1928) is a British-American author and journalist born in New York City. He spent many years in Asia as a journalist. The Asian settings of all but one of his novels reflect that experience. He covered both the Korean and the Vietnam Wars, as well as four or five lesser conflicts.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
April 22, 2018
I've done it. After 51 days and 700 pages of small print, I finished this monster of a book.
I've never studied Chinese history at school, so, I was really captured by the events narrated in "Dynasty" that range from 1900 to early '70s. Apart from the really interesting historical fiction details and the very enjoyable soapy family-saga part, the only problem are the pages dedicated to military strategies. Those are dull, hard to follow and that justify the three stars. I quite like Elegant style and I will try to find the prequels, "Manchu" and "Mandarin".
I've never studied Chinese history at school, so, I was really captured by the events narrated in "Dynasty" that range from 1900 to early '70s. Apart from the really interesting historical fiction details and the very enjoyable soapy family-saga part, the only problem are the pages dedicated to military strategies. Those are dull, hard to follow and that justify the three stars. I quite like Elegant style and I will try to find the prequels, "Manchu" and "Mandarin".
April 23, 2024
Though this book was voluminous but it is unputdownable.
I will make sure I complete the series.
I will make sure I complete the series.
November 19, 2011
An interesting look into Hong Kong at the turn of the century. I wanted to like it better than I did; it just never seems to pick up the pace, and instead feels like it's dragging on once you've reached the halfway mark. I wish there was more character development and detailed description, rather than an overview of such a wide range of characters.
August 18, 2018
The blurb made the book sound interesting but I was bored beyond my mind 1/3 of the way through.
The story-line involving Sir Jonathan and Mary are very interesting and thought provoking. You get to see the cunningness of Sir jonathan's ideas and plans put into motion, while he fights every step of the way to ensure his place among the Euroasians, especially when tensions are high between Europe and Asia. With Mary you see her struggle her way through the Euroasian world, and ensure Sir Jonathan's plans and dynasty continues, while fighting the disappointment she has over the weakness of her husband.
When the story moves towards the children and grandchildren, more and more historical facts and names are pulled in, weighing it down and leaving me with less desire to read the rest of the book. The Asian names are so confusing and while the history aspect is interesting, I felt it dragged on and on and on, never ending.
For sure the first 1/3 is a good read, the rest was difficult to read as it was set at a different pace and the characters are not as fascinating as Sir Jonathan and Mary. The ending was like meh, whatever I have lost interest in this.
The story-line involving Sir Jonathan and Mary are very interesting and thought provoking. You get to see the cunningness of Sir jonathan's ideas and plans put into motion, while he fights every step of the way to ensure his place among the Euroasians, especially when tensions are high between Europe and Asia. With Mary you see her struggle her way through the Euroasian world, and ensure Sir Jonathan's plans and dynasty continues, while fighting the disappointment she has over the weakness of her husband.
When the story moves towards the children and grandchildren, more and more historical facts and names are pulled in, weighing it down and leaving me with less desire to read the rest of the book. The Asian names are so confusing and while the history aspect is interesting, I felt it dragged on and on and on, never ending.
For sure the first 1/3 is a good read, the rest was difficult to read as it was set at a different pace and the characters are not as fascinating as Sir Jonathan and Mary. The ending was like meh, whatever I have lost interest in this.
July 28, 2022
⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
Dynasty is a bestseller from the late seventies. It’s a sprawling book about the wealthy Eurasian Sekloong family covering 70 years of Chinese history from 1900 thru 1970.
Beginning with Sir Jonathan, the Sekloong’s of Hong Kong built an empire and each succeeding generation’s goal is to keep it growing. This family saga is chock full of triumphs, tragedies, betrayals and bloodshed. In the backdrop is Chinese history starting with the end of the Boxer rebellion and ending with the rise of Communist China under Mao Tse Tung.
At times the politics and various Chinese names made this somewhat difficult for me to follow, but I’m glad I finished this old dusty paperback that’s been on my shelves for twenty plus years.
ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2022
Prompt #10 - three books set on three different continents
Dynasty is a bestseller from the late seventies. It’s a sprawling book about the wealthy Eurasian Sekloong family covering 70 years of Chinese history from 1900 thru 1970.
Beginning with Sir Jonathan, the Sekloong’s of Hong Kong built an empire and each succeeding generation’s goal is to keep it growing. This family saga is chock full of triumphs, tragedies, betrayals and bloodshed. In the backdrop is Chinese history starting with the end of the Boxer rebellion and ending with the rise of Communist China under Mao Tse Tung.
At times the politics and various Chinese names made this somewhat difficult for me to follow, but I’m glad I finished this old dusty paperback that’s been on my shelves for twenty plus years.
ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2022
Prompt #10 - three books set on three different continents
September 12, 2012
Someone said it better than I, my sentiments exactly:
One of the best... July 2 2011 By Joel Zibell - Published on Amazon.com
One of the best novels I have ever read. Elegant knows how to write historical fiction. This book ranks right up there with James Clavell's Taipan and Pearl Buck's Daughters of Madame Liang. Historical events are used accurately as a backdrop to the family saga of the Sekloongs. The characters become so "real" you believe you know each one. Highly recommended for those interested in modern China's development as a nation and for those wanting a epic novel to get lost in. What a movie this would make!
One of the best... July 2 2011 By Joel Zibell - Published on Amazon.com
One of the best novels I have ever read. Elegant knows how to write historical fiction. This book ranks right up there with James Clavell's Taipan and Pearl Buck's Daughters of Madame Liang. Historical events are used accurately as a backdrop to the family saga of the Sekloongs. The characters become so "real" you believe you know each one. Highly recommended for those interested in modern China's development as a nation and for those wanting a epic novel to get lost in. What a movie this would make!
July 14, 2010
Lots of intrigue and subplots. Characters that could be right out of the TV series "Dallas", except this isn't just about controlling a business, it's about controlling a country, China. Kept my interest right up until the end.
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June 1, 2022I read this 1976 novel in the mid 1980s while enthralled by all things Asian. Even more gripping than Clavell’s later work Noble House, this story also chronicled the fortunes of a dynamic family of Chinese entrepreneurs in Hong Kong caught in the rapidly changing times from the revolution of 1911 to the Communist victory in 1949. As much soap opera as historical narrative, the volatile characters of the male and female protagonists: their love lives, personal ambitions and jealousies and political outlooks and compromises seem to dominate an overwhelming majority of the many pages in this book. Still, when a nation undergoes political upheaval, foreign invasion, civil war and what one can only conclude to have been a relatively failed attempt to overthrow its long tradition of authoritarian rule, the entrancing historical background more than compensates for the almost Harold Robbins-like focus on personal libidos.
Recommended, especially for those like me who love really fat books
Recommended, especially for those like me who love really fat books
Read
November 2, 2019The Sekloongs
This family was a dynasty in Hong Kong. The book follows this family ' s betrayal, tragedies bloodshed and finally that leads the family closer over the decades, and through the war between the two China's to establish and expand their own personal empire. This is the third book in "The Imperial China Trilogy." The trilogy needs to be read! Some of the best books that I have ever read!
This family was a dynasty in Hong Kong. The book follows this family ' s betrayal, tragedies bloodshed and finally that leads the family closer over the decades, and through the war between the two China's to establish and expand their own personal empire. This is the third book in "The Imperial China Trilogy." The trilogy needs to be read! Some of the best books that I have ever read!
August 14, 2021
This 860 page book follows the story of a family over 70 years. Within the story the history of Hong Kong and China during this period and 1900 to 1970 is told. This books fell into my hands and it captivated me. It was written in 1977, yet it is still fresh. The book ends leaving you to wonder what happens to this family that has now been splintered. I gave it a 4=instead of a 5 because there were a few times I just wanted the book to hurry up. I will look for more books by this author.
July 7, 2022
Non metto una stella solo perché, in effetti, è scritto bene.
In un romanzo storico io mi aspetto di leggere la storia di personaggi che vivono gli avvenimenti... Non la pagina del mio libro di storia delle superiori! All'interno del "romanzo" ci sono capitoli e capitoli in cui a conti fatti si elencano le varie battaglie che hanno sconvolto la Cina nel '900. Il tutto tra l'altro così veloce che ad un certo punto ti dimentichi che fazione fa cosa perché (ma questo non è un problema del libro) spesso e volentieri sono confusionari e caotici cambiando alleanze ogni due secondi. Il tutto è condito da sporadici capitoli in cui in teoria narrano le gesta dei protagonisti, in pratica solo la loro vita sessuale e romantica, nient'altro.
La parte più interessante è forse la prima dove una giovane Mary (la protagonista) non ancora interessata alla politica, si concentra sulla sua vita da ragazza vittoriana, peccato che qui si subisca il problema opposto: non sembra esserci l'effettiva Storia.
Il che è un vero peccato perché quei pochi capitoli (circa due o tre) in cui il fulcro è effettivamente come i protagonisti affrontano gli eventi sono dannatamente interessanti (vedi il capitolo sulla peste e quello sulla conquista di Hong Kong da parte giapponese nella seconda guerra mondiale).
In un romanzo storico io mi aspetto di leggere la storia di personaggi che vivono gli avvenimenti... Non la pagina del mio libro di storia delle superiori! All'interno del "romanzo" ci sono capitoli e capitoli in cui a conti fatti si elencano le varie battaglie che hanno sconvolto la Cina nel '900. Il tutto tra l'altro così veloce che ad un certo punto ti dimentichi che fazione fa cosa perché (ma questo non è un problema del libro) spesso e volentieri sono confusionari e caotici cambiando alleanze ogni due secondi. Il tutto è condito da sporadici capitoli in cui in teoria narrano le gesta dei protagonisti, in pratica solo la loro vita sessuale e romantica, nient'altro.
La parte più interessante è forse la prima dove una giovane Mary (la protagonista) non ancora interessata alla politica, si concentra sulla sua vita da ragazza vittoriana, peccato che qui si subisca il problema opposto: non sembra esserci l'effettiva Storia.
Il che è un vero peccato perché quei pochi capitoli (circa due o tre) in cui il fulcro è effettivamente come i protagonisti affrontano gli eventi sono dannatamente interessanti (vedi il capitolo sulla peste e quello sulla conquista di Hong Kong da parte giapponese nella seconda guerra mondiale).
March 6, 2025
I'm not sure why some reviewers compared "Dynasty" to James Clavell's "Taipan", because his mainly concentrated on Hong Kong's history and the British who settled there. This historical fiction saga spans the time period from 1900 to 1970 and is based on the rich and powerful Sekloong family of mixed English and Chinese heritage. As their Eurasian children grow up and move away from Hong Kong, they land in many places of the world. About 2/3 of the book is Chinese history, concentrated slow reading, and probably to much detail for the non history aficionado. I'm sure the reader will recognize names such as Chairman Mao Tse-Tung, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, Confucius, Yuan Shin-Kai, Chou En-lai, Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, the Kuomintang, etc. The plot also depicts the fictional lives of the powerful Sekloong family and their struggles, hopes, dreams, the actual realities, and their impact on the events of the time. The patriarch, Sir Jonathan Sekloong, of Irish/Chinese heritage, continues to expand his vast financial interests to protect his empire even as China is torn apart by war and radical ideological change.
The prelude begins the book on June 27th, 1970 as a flash forward when Mary Sekloong is celebrating her 90th birthday, and the family is gathered to celebrate with her. There are chapters interspersed throughout the book that return to this day where Mary is reflecting on her family's past and their lives.
May 28, 1900 is when Mary Philippa Osgood arrives in Hong Kong to live with her father who is a penniless warrant officer and bandmaster. She makes friends and eventually meets Eurasian Charles Sekloong at a ball. Mary is bold enough to defy the social traditions of the time, gets a couple of marriage proposals, but chooses Charles because she sees him as a man who will grow richer in time. The wedding is a combination of two cultures, and it isn't long before Charles demands absolute obedience. A woman was only for raising children to build the clan, and she has four babies (Jonathan, Guinevere, Charlotte, and Thomas) in four years and refuses sex for a while to recuperate. Well, Charles take a concubine which is the norm in China at that time. Mary and Charles eventually learn to love each other.
Sir Jonathan (also called the "Old Man") is determined to make the Sekloongs not only respected but accepted. He is the comprador of Derwent, Hays, & Company; and his dream is to be the 1st Chinese Taipan. In 1909 a plague strikes, and there are 30 pages of small print describing its effects on Hong Kong and the inhabitants. Charles's brother Harry (whom Mary has an affair with and a son named James) finds himself totally committed to Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolution, his passion and political objective.
Dick and Iain Wheatly are enemies of the Sekloong family and have come up with a scheme involving grand larceny to bankrupt Sir Jonathan. They are going to leak rumors that he is illegally providing gold to Yuan Shih-kai who wants to reestablish the empire with himself as emperor, that Jonathan is avariciously grabbing the National Treasures, and brazenly manipulating internal Chinese politics. Sir Jonathan ships 40 members of his family and servants to Poitaiho to protect them from harm while he carries out a campaign against the Wheatley's. Ingenious what he did!
All Thomas and James, the sons of Charles and Mary, want to be is soldiers, but they go in opposite directions. Thomas aligns himself with Chiang Kai-shek as a Nationalist while James aligns himself with Chou En-lai and Lin Piao and becomes a Comrade Battalion Commander under the Communist Party. Half of the book describes their political maneuverings. During the Chinese-Japanese war James becomes an underground agent in Japanese occupied areas. He later changes his name to Shih Ai-Kuo and becomes an outlaw in the revolt against the legitimate government of China. His uncle Harry, as a Counselor of President Wang Ching, is striving for peace between China and Japan. James doesn't like who Harry is aligned with and kills him not knowing that he is really his father. In the meantime, Hitler and Stalin sign a nonaggression pact. How does this change the struggle between China and Japan? Sir Jonathan has become an absolute ruler of a vast commercial firm and says it's time to invest in America. He has Mary helping him so she will learn the business. He admires her spunk.
I have only scratched the surface of the history detailed in this 860 page small print book. Some of the other events include: The Boxer Rebellion, British at war with Germany, in 1939 Britain came to Poland's assistance when they were invaded, France surrenders, Hitler faces Russians, and Germans poised to attack England, in 1941 Hong Kong celebrated its 100th anniversary and being the commercial capitol of the Far East, Sir Jonathan dies at 97 on 11/28/1950 while writing his memoirs, 1967 was the birth of the People's Liberation Army, The Great People's Communes & Great Leap Forward movement with its vision and the reality of what actually happened, Albert Sekloong Associates, Ltd. on the verge of bankruptcy, 1967 ends with the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and the Red Guards, and so much more... In the front of the book is a Family Tree of the Sekloong family which comes in handy keeping track of all the characters. This book is rich in descriptive detail and definitely lands the reader in time and place. None-the-less, the book is well worth reading. Just set aside a large chunk of time to get through it!
The prelude begins the book on June 27th, 1970 as a flash forward when Mary Sekloong is celebrating her 90th birthday, and the family is gathered to celebrate with her. There are chapters interspersed throughout the book that return to this day where Mary is reflecting on her family's past and their lives.
May 28, 1900 is when Mary Philippa Osgood arrives in Hong Kong to live with her father who is a penniless warrant officer and bandmaster. She makes friends and eventually meets Eurasian Charles Sekloong at a ball. Mary is bold enough to defy the social traditions of the time, gets a couple of marriage proposals, but chooses Charles because she sees him as a man who will grow richer in time. The wedding is a combination of two cultures, and it isn't long before Charles demands absolute obedience. A woman was only for raising children to build the clan, and she has four babies (Jonathan, Guinevere, Charlotte, and Thomas) in four years and refuses sex for a while to recuperate. Well, Charles take a concubine which is the norm in China at that time. Mary and Charles eventually learn to love each other.
Sir Jonathan (also called the "Old Man") is determined to make the Sekloongs not only respected but accepted. He is the comprador of Derwent, Hays, & Company; and his dream is to be the 1st Chinese Taipan. In 1909 a plague strikes, and there are 30 pages of small print describing its effects on Hong Kong and the inhabitants. Charles's brother Harry (whom Mary has an affair with and a son named James) finds himself totally committed to Dr. Sun Yat-sen's revolution, his passion and political objective.
Dick and Iain Wheatly are enemies of the Sekloong family and have come up with a scheme involving grand larceny to bankrupt Sir Jonathan. They are going to leak rumors that he is illegally providing gold to Yuan Shih-kai who wants to reestablish the empire with himself as emperor, that Jonathan is avariciously grabbing the National Treasures, and brazenly manipulating internal Chinese politics. Sir Jonathan ships 40 members of his family and servants to Poitaiho to protect them from harm while he carries out a campaign against the Wheatley's. Ingenious what he did!
All Thomas and James, the sons of Charles and Mary, want to be is soldiers, but they go in opposite directions. Thomas aligns himself with Chiang Kai-shek as a Nationalist while James aligns himself with Chou En-lai and Lin Piao and becomes a Comrade Battalion Commander under the Communist Party. Half of the book describes their political maneuverings. During the Chinese-Japanese war James becomes an underground agent in Japanese occupied areas. He later changes his name to Shih Ai-Kuo and becomes an outlaw in the revolt against the legitimate government of China. His uncle Harry, as a Counselor of President Wang Ching, is striving for peace between China and Japan. James doesn't like who Harry is aligned with and kills him not knowing that he is really his father. In the meantime, Hitler and Stalin sign a nonaggression pact. How does this change the struggle between China and Japan? Sir Jonathan has become an absolute ruler of a vast commercial firm and says it's time to invest in America. He has Mary helping him so she will learn the business. He admires her spunk.
I have only scratched the surface of the history detailed in this 860 page small print book. Some of the other events include: The Boxer Rebellion, British at war with Germany, in 1939 Britain came to Poland's assistance when they were invaded, France surrenders, Hitler faces Russians, and Germans poised to attack England, in 1941 Hong Kong celebrated its 100th anniversary and being the commercial capitol of the Far East, Sir Jonathan dies at 97 on 11/28/1950 while writing his memoirs, 1967 was the birth of the People's Liberation Army, The Great People's Communes & Great Leap Forward movement with its vision and the reality of what actually happened, Albert Sekloong Associates, Ltd. on the verge of bankruptcy, 1967 ends with the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and the Red Guards, and so much more... In the front of the book is a Family Tree of the Sekloong family which comes in handy keeping track of all the characters. This book is rich in descriptive detail and definitely lands the reader in time and place. None-the-less, the book is well worth reading. Just set aside a large chunk of time to get through it!
November 10, 2020
This was good - not great. Written by a journalist in an odd combo of flat out history, the historical fiction story of a Sekloong family to frame and inform the history, and seemingly random, poetic, descriptive passages. Where was his editor? Like the family characters. Really learned a lot about the history of China and Hong King from 1900-1970.
February 10, 2024
Gostei da historia, da metade pro final foi mais interessante. Acredito que não vou ler a continuação, mas fiquei presa na leitura, pois a Mary, com suas caracteristicas e no meio em que está inserida instigam a curiosidade de saber o que vai acontecer na trama.
July 1, 2020
Very exciting
May 23, 2023
Intense book about 1900s and revolutionary Hong Kong / China. I forget how bloody that period was.
Good if you are into alternate history.
Good if you are into alternate history.
July 25, 2011
Read this book about two years before I actually went to Hong Kong - I found the historical background really useful when I was there, particularly the details of the communist/nationalist conflict. This is all explained in a family setting and through the eyes of a Westerner.
Well worth a read, book stops at 1970 so would be good if there was a sequel.
Well worth a read, book stops at 1970 so would be good if there was a sequel.
November 13, 2014
A poor man's Noble House.
June 5, 2013
Elegant 'does' Hong Kong and China as well as Clavell. A little Tai Pan - a little Noble House...
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews