Her Lotus Year – The Peking of Ann Bridge

Posted: November 29th, 2024 | No Comments »

I should tip my hat to one of the best novelists to describe the insular “goldfish bowl” world of the Legation Quarter Set of 1920s Peking – Ann Bridge (aka Lady O’Malley). Wife of a British diplomat, she lived in Peking from 1925 to 1927, almost contemporaneous with Wallis. Afterwards she wrote 3 highly descriptive novels of the city and its 1920s “Foreign Colony”, all worth reading – Peking Picnic (1932), The Ginger Griffin (1934) & Four-Part Setting (1938). All contain Wallis sojourner-like characters enchanted with Peking, making it on their wits, and much desired within the male heavy society. Sadly not much read today Bridge deserves a revival…..

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