High Road To China

by Jon Cleary

A bold young American heiress, a bitter British ex-air ace, his aristocratic German former flying foe...

Put them in the year 1920.

Give them three vintage World War I fighters.

And you have what sheer juicy reading pleasure is all about -- High Road to China.

Genres: Fiction, Adventure, Historical Fiction, Crime

317 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

About the author

Australian popular novelist, a natural storyteller, whose career as a writer extended over 60 years. Jon Cleary's books have sold some 8 million copies. Often the stories are set in exotic locations all over the world or in some interesting historical scene of the 20th century, such as the Nazi Berlin of 1936. Cleary also wrote perhaps the longest running homicide detective series of Australia. Its sympathetic protagonist, Inspector Scobie Malone, was introduced in The High Commissioner (1966). Degrees of Connection, published in 2003, was Scobie's 20th appearance. Although Cleary's books can be read as efficiently plotted entertainment, he occasionally touched psychological, social, and moral dilemmas inside the frame of high adventure.

Jon Stephen Cleary was born in Sydney, New South Wales, into a working class family as the eldest of seven children. When Clearly was only 10, his father Matthew was condemned to six months' imprisonment for stealing £5 from his baker's delivery bag, in an attempt have money to feed his family. Cleary's mother, Ida, was a fourth-generation Australian. From his parents Cleary inherited a strong sense of just and unjust and his belief in family values.

Cleary was educated at the Marist Brothers school in Randwick, New South Wales. After leaving school in 1932, at the age of fourteen, he spent the following 8 years out of work or in odd jobs, such as a commercial traveler and bush worker – "I had more jobs than I can now remember," he later said of the Depression years. Cleary's love of reading was sparked when he began to help his friend, who had a travelling library. His favorite writers included P.G. Wodehouse. Before the war Clearly became interested in the career of commercial artists, but he also wrote for amateur revues. In 1940 he joined the Australian Army and served in the Middle East and New Guinea. During these years Cleary started to write seriously, and by the war's end he had published several short stories in magazines. His radio play, Safe Horizon (1944), received a broadcasting award.

Cleary's These Small Glories (1945), a collection of short stories, was based on his experiences as a soldier in the Middle East. In 1946 Cleary married Joy Lucas, a Melbourne nurse, whom he had met on a sea voyage to England; they had two daughters. His first novel, You Can’t See Round Corners (1947), won the second prize in The Sydney Morning Herald’s novel contest. It was later made into a television serial and then into a feature film. The Graham Greene-ish story of a deserter who returns to Sydney showed Cleary's skill at describing his home city, its bars, and people living on the margin of society. Noteworthy, the book was edited by Greene himself, who worked for the publishing firm Eyre & Spottiswoode and who gave Cleary two advices: "One, never forget there are two people in a book; the writer and the reader. And the second one was he said, 'Write a thriller because it will teach you the art of narrative and it will teach you the uses of brevity.'" (In an interview by Ramona Koval, ABC Radio program, February 2006)

Reviews

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

He was an adventurer, a dying breed: but who of us does not still dream of being one?

The year is 1920 and William Bede O’Malley, daredevil flying ace during World War I with over 30 kills claimed, is trying to make ends meet in a rickety plane across the sky of London, trying to write advertising messages with his smoke trails.
When a different job is offered by a Boston socialite lady, this born adventurer doesn’t hesitate one minute.

I made tea, got out our four cracked and only cups, pulled the chairs and two boxes up to the kitchen table, spread out the maps and got down to planning an 8000-mile trip to China, everything to be ready within 24 hours. Moses, Columbus and Captain Cook, three other voyagers, would have laughed at us.

You must be either crazy or desperate to think you can get to China in less than two weeks in the year 1920. Not even Phileas Fogg would have laid a wager on the chances of Bede O’Malley and his crew mates.
Eve Tozer is the desperate one. Her father has been kidnapped by one of the warring generals that are currently trying to carve up China into personal fiefdoms. Eve has received a ransom note with an ultimatum threatening the beheading of the prisoner unless she delivers an antique statuette [McGuffin] on time.
She is a beautiful and resourceful woman [ ‘So far I’ve shot only one man, ... Elephants are easier.’ ] who can pilot her own plane and will shoot down any man who thinks he can threaten her. But she needs help if she plans to arrive in China on time.

Bede O’Malley buys three old fighter planes left over from the war with Eve’s money. His trusted mechanic, Eve Tozer and a Chinese gentleman named Sun Nan, who delivered the ransom note on behalf of the general, will be the other members of the expedition.
As the crew flies over the Channel, across France and into Germany, another flying ace is added to the fellowship: Baron Conrad von Kern, Bede O’Malley’s former adversary in the war, similarly out of work now and making do as a dashing gigolo for society ladies. Baron Kern is also easily convinced to join the adventure.

Fliers today can recognize frontiers in certain parts of the world by guard towers, barbed wire fences and cleared no-man’s land, but generally speaking, then and now, fliers are the last free wanderers. You can’t draw boundaries on clouds.

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Jon Cleary is a pleasant discovery for me, a journey down memory lane towards my early readings of Jules Verne and Edgar Rice Burrows and of all those navigators who chased after white spots on world maps. This particular book has the added appeal of the most romantic period of early flying machines, those rickety devices so prone to crashing. Cleary may not have the poetic flair of a Saint Exupery, but he is a very good storyteller who knows that well written, complex characters, a dash of humour, extensive research and clear prose are as necessary for a thriller as a wild imagination.

"I realised at 40 I did not have the intellectual depth to be the writer I would like to be, so I determined to be as good a craftsman as I might be" declares Cleary in an interview. A lot of his novels have been adapted for the screen, and I have seen ‘High Road to China’ [1983] with Tom Selleck before reading the book. The film is not bad, but I believe the book is better.

How can you argue against such a thrill race against time, from Viennese palaces to dubious hotels in Istanbul, with a hilarious pit stop closer to my home, on the border between Romania and Bulgaria, where Bede must escape the clutches of a nymphomaniac Countess Dracula?
By the way, most of the border between Romania and Bulgaria is formed by the very wide Danube River, which makes me wonder where exactly can I find this alluring Countess? Probably Dobrogea?

The aftermath of the first world war was not exactly peaceful as Eve and Bede will soon discover in Turkey, where the English still hope to gain the upper hand and Mustapha Kemal Ataturk is fighting a civil war and Greek separatists. O’Malley and Kern are forced to take part in the fight if they want to receive permission to continue their journey.
The Arabian peninsula is another cauldron getting ready to boil over, and only some fast tale spinning from Bede can get the crew out of some pretty scary tight spots.

Lately I had begun to have little respect for the truth, philosophizing that humanity preferred the alternative, any alternative, and a good liar was a better man to listen to than a true gospeller.

If they thought the Turks and the Arabs were dangerous, wait until the airplanes try to cross the Himalayas and the adventurers become prisoners of one of those bloodthirsty Taliban [Pashtun] tribal leaders.
India should be a walk in the park after the frozen mountain tops, but even there we will meet with the only polo playing Communist in the world and we will need to take part in a roller skating race through two miles of palace corridors.

I know this sounds a bit like one of the rejected scripts for The Great Race [1965], but Jon Cleary somehow manages to temperate the humour of some of the adventures with a hefty dose of realism and pragmatism. I knew before we reached China that this adventure will not end up in an epic custard pie fight.

Everything was so bizarre: the chopping block, the wicker basket, the guards in their tweed caps, the woman holding the long sword on her shoulder as if it were a parasol. This was the stuff of opera, he would not have been surprised if he had heard Wagner with Chinese overtones. He suspended both belief and disbelief and waited to be informed.


Both Bede O’Malley and Baron von Kern come from two countries with imperial ambitions before the war. Both men, and even the Boston high society Eve, have some rethinking to do as they come into contact with the countries who were the target /victims of those imperial ambitions. Mustapha Kemal Ataturk, the Chinese Sun Nun, the Pashtun leader, the Indian moghul and later even a young Mao Tse-Tung will provide us with the alternative perspectives.

‘You hypocrites from the West. Why is a man dishonourable because he wants to cut our throats? We came here uninvited. Your countrymen, Mr. O’Malley, are at war with him and his countrymen. Why should he be hospitable towards us?’

As a longtime reader of pulpy adventures, I was waiting for the obligatory romance between the ace pilot and the posh redhead lady. The manner the author handled this relationship is also one of the highlights of the story, and nothing like the standard fare I was expecting.

Something was happening to him, he mused wryly: he was developing a social conscience. ‘What do all those people think of a show like this?’

Bede O’Malley starts to question not only his heart, but also his moral compass and his growing respect for a former adversary [the Baron]. This is not a novel that will sacrifice pacing and high octane chases in order to insert the author’s political convictions into the text, but such social commentary, handled with restraint and balance, was for once welcome.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and so is prejudice, we look for ourselves in the strangers we meet and when we don’t recognize the familiar we pretend to a superiority.

I hope I have left out sufficient details about the actual fighting and mishaps that the adventurers are engaged in for readers to discover by themselves in this novel that seems to me severely underappreciated on Goodreads: less than 200 ratings, compared with some of the recent popular titles of dubious quality that get over 100000.
I really liked how the epilogue covers several decades in the lives of the heroes after the memorable trip to China, a paean to the siren song of pure adventure that can be heard for a lifetime.

Despite their intelligence, they were reluctant to be cured of the fever of adventure. At least during the past two weeks they have lived, even if sometimes on the doorstep to eternity.

I might try another Jon Cleary novel at some point, to confirm the good impression left by the flight to China.

[Jake · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a kid, my sister rented the film version of this novel starring Tom Selleck. It hadn’t been a box office hit, but she and I loved it. It is a great performance by Mr. Selleck, and I fell in love with his romantic interest in the film: Bess Armstrong.

In college I finally got around to reading the novel. As with other novel to film adaptations, I feel this adventure story faired better on celluloid. (See Man in the Iron Mask and Jaws .) The movie cuts a couple of major characters I didn’t find interesting anyway, and captures the thrill of WWI-era flight. The novel, however, does a more thorough job of depicting the exotic landscape and cultures traversed by an heiress in search of her father, and the fighter ace who escorts her on the perilous journey.

If you saw and enjoyed the movie, you might like the book.

[Benjamin Clow · Rating 3 out of 5]

A classic, rip-snorting adventure novel, almost like a grown-up's version of the Biggles books. American capitalist's daughter Eva Tozer has one week to save her father who is kidnapped in China. She recruits two pilots fresh from WW1, the British Bede O'Malley and the German Conrad Kern to assist her on her journey. This was a fun read, very different and much better than the still enjoyable High Road to China film starring Tom Selleck. Long chapters, but each one worked as a mini adventure. They had to avoid civil wars, creepy Austrian countesses, British troops in Burma, and thieving aristocrats in India. The narration is a mix of third person and fictional extracts from O'Malley's diary. The relationship between the German and the British pilot was done well and a dynamic I had never read before. (it was set in 1920).
"He raised his eyes and looked farther, to the west, to the darkness there in which he could see nothing: not China nor India nor Asia Minor nor the Balkans nor even home. He was staring into the long night of history, small worlds, once smug and safe, that has gone forever."
Comfy reading all round.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essentially the novel that inspired the Tom Selleck movie (originally rumored to have been slated for Roger Moore and Bo Derek), High Road to China is a terrific aviation yarn by a master author of the action genre who simply hasn’t published enough novels for my taste. As a very young man, I thrilled to Jon Cleary's treatment of Formula I racing in The Green Helmet (part of why I would still rather watch an international grand prix than a NASCAR race) and I recently spotted this volume in my local library. Not having seen the film (which diverges from the plot in terms of both the origin of the flight (obviously to shorten the movie) and in terms of the rationale behind the flight (apparently, scheming partners were more palatable than Chinese warlords as the villain)). Of course, I didn’t see the movie. I only read a synopsis and noted right away that there were a few differences—welcome differences in my opinion.

In the novel, an heiress discovers that she has a limited amount of time to get from England (as opposed to Turkey in the film) to Shanghai and Hunan in order to deliver a valuable statuette to a tuchan (warlord) before the warlord either beheads her father or slits his throat. The only possible way that she can meet the deadline is via an air journey that zig-zags across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia using three decommissioned Bristols (WWI aircraft). I love it. I have an unfinished manuscript with decommissioned French WWI aircraft in China so I thought this was very cool.

Personally, in addition to the expectations of the adventurers being caught up in bureaucracy, diplomacy, espionage, and overt war, I feel like High Road to China delivered in terms of crisp, thought-provoking lines. I’ll only share a few of them here. One of my favorite lines takes place between a former German pilot (with the famous/infamous “Flying Circus” of von Richtofen) and the former British pilot (played by Selleck in the film), O’ Malley.

“Are you experienced in women, Herr O’ Malley?”

“I’ve had some experience of their bodies.” What man ever admits to less? The proud cock crowing.

“But I’m a virgin when it comes to their minds.”

“Most of us are.” It was an admission I didn’t expect him to make. (p. 147)

At other times (and fortunately, Cleary uses this sparingly), a mysterious Chinese man (a minion of the notorious warlord) comes out with quotations which would make the cliché-ridden “Charlie Chan” show a bit of envy. Sun Nan states after a failed attempt at bribery: “One should always read a man’s bank account,” said Sun Nan, Confucian in his cups, “before trying to bribe him.” (p. 108)

At another point, I appreciated the wisdom in this brief line: “My uncle was a diplomat, not a soldier. They never have to pull the trigger.” (p. 152)
On one occasion, I remember reading that an empire is “not worth a pinch of camel merde” (an epithet for “dung” if you don’t know French) and on another, “If only we Germans could learn their skill at deception. But all we can deceive are ourselves.” (p. 236) I also loved the bandit who had lived and worked in the U.S. so that he spoke underworld slang. It was so beyond what I expected that I found myself laughing in spite of the consequences in which the protagonists found themselves. I also enjoyed the “cameo” appearance of a young Mao-Tse-Tung and a casual reference to Chiang Kai-shek.

High Road to China is so well-written that I would hesitate to see the movie, now. I have images in my head that are so delightful that I’d hate to spoil them. Let me just say that if you like a combination of adventure and historical color, I don’t think you would be disappointed with High Road to China.

[Jedediah Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it is an action-filled adventure, the novel is also surprisingly rich in character development and complex relationships. It depicts the psychology of post-War alienation and anomie. A world order has expired and now lies in state, cocooned by the heavy perfume of wilted roses and funeral gowns. Politically, the roots of future world conflict are already bared by the back and forth of local power struggles.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

The novel is MUCH more sophisticated than the Tom Selleck movie -- which leaves out a couple of major characters and most of the European sections of the book. It's an insightful looks at post-war Europe and Asia wrapped up in an adventure story. Cameron and I read it out loud and couldn't put it down.

[Mike Van In · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a well-written, full-blown action adventure that covers an aerial journey of nineteen days in 1920. The core characters commence with three armed WW1 biplanes, from the UK to China, in their attempt to meet the deadline and prevent the execution of a kidnapped businessman. The competent daughter of the wealthy businessman provides the ongoing motivation, is herself an experienced pilot, and has the necessary wealth available to keep the story from bogging down for arbitrary financial reasons.

The small band of travellers, not all of whom are on the same side - but have the same determination to complete the journey, meets many interesting obstacles along the way, populated by interesting characters, most of whom are less than willing to assist with the mission.

The script for the movie based on the book has perhaps a fifteen percent correlation with the author's narrative. Expect quite a different story, more detailed and richer obviously, with all of the characters being far better developed than can be catered for in a movie.

A thoroughly enjoyable yarn.

[Kelly Sedinger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly entertaining, if dated, adventure novel! If you saw the rather sleepy Tom Selleck movie based on this book and are inclined to avoid the novel based on the film, know that the movie's story bears only a very superficial relationship to that of the book. Cleary's novel is actually much better. One caveat is the racism in the story; I got a feeling that Cleary may have been echoing racial attitudes of the 1920s rather than expressing his own, but that factor does make for some uncomfortable passages. Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this one.

[Nate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable, old fashioned adventure story. I read this because I was a fan of the Tom selleck film version from the 80s. The movie cuts out some of the characters and focused more on the romance between eve and O’Malley but the spirit of the book was there. The book was not perfect, my main complaint being the roller derby scene at the palace in India. That part came off a bit silly compared to the rest of the book.

[Mark Desrosiers · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the movie with Tom Selleck and Bess Armstrong many many years ago, very different from the novel. The novel was great, great characters and tons of flying action. I did like the down and out character of O’ Malley (hard drinking, ex fighter pilot still haunted by the atrocities of the war) more in the movie than in the book. Still glad I finally read the book though.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ran into the movie based on this book while I was living in Taiwan over thirty years ago. It is still my favorite movie. Since then I had tried to find the novel without success until I tried Kindle. The central plot is the same. Other than that the characters, settings, all else are more elegantly nuanced and compelling. A page-turning romantic adventure.

[Matthew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Jon Cleary novel I have read and thoroughly enjoyed. The film based off of it bears the same title and that is about it. Much like Cleary's The Golden Sabre, this book deserves miniseries treatment by a company with the budget to do it right.

[Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good story. The first half is definitely 4 stars, and the second half just wasn't as engaging or exciting as the build-up seemed to indicate. So overall, I did enjoy the book, but it finished around the 3.25 star rating.

[Mark P · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this after I saw the movie. As much as I liked the film, it pales in comparison to the book. To do the book justice, it really needed to be a 5 or 6 part miniseries. It's a great story and still reads well today. I would recommend.

[Leah · Rating 1 out of 5]

This sounded like it was going to have an awesome female character but soooooo many nos. Just no.

[Steven · Rating 3 out of 5]

High Road to China is an adventure serial set in a world adjusting to the aftermath of World War I, with airplanes as the key asset to the protagonists. For those that have seen the movie adaptation with Tom Selleck, expect to find a lot of differences in the story, characters, and the McGuffin. I didn't find all of the novel's adventures entertaining, but I liked the themes the author conveyed in the character arcs of his three leads: a rich American woman on a quest and the former British and German fighter pilots that aided her. I also enjoyed the banter of and between the lead characters throughout the story. I think both the movie and this novel are worth the time invested.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic easy to read adventure novel. As a bonus it paints a vivid picture of how the world was changing rapidly in the aftermath of World War 1. The author conveys that many 'worlds' were rapidly disappearing into history.

I have read this book at least ten times now and always enjoy returning to it. Highly recommend.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this is the first true adventure book that I've read in a long time. I picked it up, because I saw the movie and absolutely loved it. Like many adaptations, the book was better (though the movie was not half-bad, either). I really enjoyed this novel. It had action and kept me wondering and guessing till the very end. :)

[Beauregard Shagnasty · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why does Hollywood buy the rights to books and then butcher them beyond recognition? This excellent adventure novel is far more enjoyable than the turgid film version, which shares only the title and a few characters. As usual, the novel is far superior.

[Mediana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally love this book, it was one of those books that I just couldn't put down and finished reading it in 2 days. I've read it twice now. one of my all time favorite books. still yet to watch the movie based on it.

[Mashrur Hossain · Rating 4 out of 5]

shows you what life was like a century ago. Great book full of history, culture and adventure

[Quinton Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have seen the film so many times and think it is hilarious, so when I found this book in a library sale I had to read it. I'm very happy to say that the book was just as hilarious as the film. :)

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's one of my favorite movies too.