The Chinese Widow

Robert Gunn #2

by James Leasor

James Leasor's two preceding books in his chronicle of the Far East a century and half ago - FOLLOW THE DRUM and MANDARIN-GOLD were acclaimed by critics on both sides of the Atlantic. THE CHINESE WIDOW is their equal. It combines the ferocious force of the Dutch mercenaries who seek to destroy Gunn's plan; the pathos of a young woman left alone to rule a fierce and rebellious people; the gawky humour of Gunn's partner, the rough, raw Scot MacPherson; the mysterious yet efficacious practice of Chinese medicine, handed on through thousands of years... When doctors in England pronounced his death sentence, Robert Gunn-founder of Mandarin-Gold, one of the most prosperous Far Eastern trading companies of the nineteenth century-vowed to spend his final year in creating a lasting memorial to leave behind him... to pay back, somehow, his debt to the lands of the East that had been the making of his vast fortune. He had a plan - a great plan - but to see it through he had to confront a fierce and rebellious people, a force of Dutch mercenaries and the Chinese Widow. Who was the Widow? What was her past-and her power...? Action, suspense and the mysterious splendour of the Orient are combined in this exciting and moving novel.

277 pages, Hardcover

First published August 29, 2012

About the author

James Leasor was a prolific British author, who wrote historical books and thrillers. A number of Leasor's works were made into films, including his 1978 book, Boarding Party, about an incident from the Second World War that until that time was secret, was turned into a film, "The Sea Wolves", starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven.

Thomas James Leasor was born at Erith, Kent, on 20th December 1923 and educated at the City of London School. On leaving school, whilst waiting to join the army, he had his first foray into journalism, as a cub scout reporter for the Kent Messenger.
He volunteered for the Army in World War 2, as soon as he was old enough. He was commissioned into the Royal Berkshire Regiment and served in Burma with the Lincolnshire Regiment.

After the war he went up to Oriel College, Oxford, to read English. There he edited the Isis magazine, before joining the Daily Express. He became a full-time author in the 1960s. He also ghosted a number of autobiographies for subjects as diverse as the Duke of Windsor, King Zog of Albania, the actors Kenneth More and Jack Hawkins and Rats, a Jack Russell terrier that served with the British Army in Northern Ireland during the Troubles.

He lived for his last 40 years at Swallowcliffe Manor, near Salisbury in Wiltshire. He died on 10th September 2007 and is buried in the churchyard of St Peter’s Church, Swallowcliffe.

Reviews

[Eric Bruce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Many novels set in the Far East e.g. The Dream Traders , Tai-Pan , Tanamera and The White Rajah are among my favourites , so I was pleased to come across this one by an author I hadn't read before .While it falls some way short of the aforementioned, it is a good read largely set in Borneo . When I found that the main character only had a short time to live at the beginning of the book , I was not too hopeful about the contents but the tale moved along quite smoothly ( in the 19th Century ) though I felt there were too many loose ends and would have been better with another 100plus pages to flesh out the characters and some of the story lines .

[Leslie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought it was a mildly entertaining book 'of its time.' Not the most well-written or edited but satisfying enough as an adventure story. I enjoyed the places the protagonist visited and the respect he gave to others & the twist, which embraced a philosophy with which I agree. Pleasant, rewarding and not challenging.