The Opium War by Julia Lovell

The Opium War by Julia Lovell

‘A gripping read as well as an important one.’ Rana Mitter, Guardian

In October 1839, Britain entered the first Opium War with China. Its brutality notwithstanding, the conflict was also threaded with tragicomedy: with Victorian hypocrisy, bureaucratic fumblings, military missteps, political opportunism and collaboration. Yet over the past hundred and seventy years, this strange tale of misunderstanding, incompetence and compromise has become the founding episode of modern Chinese nationalism.

Starting from this first conflict, The Opium War explores how China’s national myths mould its interactions with the outside world, how public memory is spun to serve the present, and how delusion and prejudice have bedevilled its relationship with the modern West.

‘Lively, erudite and meticulously researched’ Literary Review

‘An important reminder of how the memory of the Opium War continues to cast a dark shadow.’ Sunday Times

Julia Lovell teaches modern Chinese history at Birkbeck College, University of London. She is the author of The Great Wall: China Against the World and The Politics of Cultural Capital: China’s Quest for a Nobel Prize in Literature and writes on China for the Guardian, Independent and The Times Literary Supplement. Her many translations of modern Chinese fiction include, most recently, Lu Xun’s The Real Story of Ah-Q, and Other Tales of China.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780330457484
ISBN 10	0330457489
Title	The Opium War
Author	Julia Lovell
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Pan Macmillan
Year published	2012-05-10
Number of pages	480
Prizes	Long-listed for The Orwell Prize 2012 (UK), Long-listed for Cundill Prize 2012 (UK)
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.