Over six years have elapsed since the release of Paul French’s debut as a writer of what publishers these days label ‘narrative non-fiction’ – a clumsy term inconsistent with the fluid, novelistic grace to which the genre characteristically aspires. That book, Midnight in Peking, attracted enthusiastic reviews and became an international bestseller. With an emphasis on evoking the personalities and the often rackety lives of its hitherto obscure cast, the book provides a gripping reconstruction of events surrounding the brutal murder of a young British woman living in Peking’s louche expat community in the 1930s.

Subscribe or Sign In to read the full article