MANDARIN-GOLD

‘Highly absorbing account of the corruption of an individual during a particularly sordid era of British imperial history’ The Sunday Times

‘With pace and ingenuity, Leasor tells how the China coast was forced open to English traders.’ Evening Standard

‘Meticulously researched… the detail of the Emperor’s lavish court is fascinating.’ Manchester Evening News

China, 1833. The Qing Empire still stands proud, but Western traders have discovered the key to its riches: opium.

Robert Gunn, a young Scotsman determined to make his fortune, arrives on the China coast with ambition, courage and few scruples. Drawn into a ruthless world of merchants, smugglers and mandarins, he soon learns that wealth comes at a terrible price. Every step towards power demands compromise, and every success carries him further from the man he once was.

As the illegal opium trade grows and the collision between East and West becomes inevitable, Gunn finds himself caught in a dangerous struggle where fortunes are won through violence, deception and betrayal.