Indiscreet Letters from Peking. Being the Notes of an Eye Witness, which set forth in some detail, from Day to Day, the Real Story of the Siege and Sack of a Distressed Capital in 1900 -- the Year of Great Tribulation.
New York: Dodd Mead, 1907. First American edition. Hardcover. An account of the siege of Peking by Bertram Lenox Simpson (1877–1930), under the pen name Putnam Weale. Born in China, employed by the Imperial Maritime Customs, from which he departed dishonorably in 1901, Simpson was described by Robert A. Bickers in 'Britain in China,' as "the consummate treaty port jobbing hack, writing commentaries, begging for newspaper work, penning novels, ... He worked thereafter in Chinese government or warlord employ". (p33) The author was murdered in 1930 while in the employ of the warlord Yan Xishan, having taken control of the Tianjin customs. 8vo, vii, 447pp. Red gilt stamped cloth, spine sunned. Internally, inscription at ffep, o/w very good. Very good overall. Item #17350
Price: $65.00