Any reader whose interest is aroused by this novel will find these books to be a mine of information.
I have read a number of books, fiction and non-fiction, while researching for my latest novel. Some of those which particularly helped me are To The Edge of the Sky by Anhua Gao, Fragrant Harbour by John Lanchester, Borrowed Place, Borrowed Time by Richard Hughes, Hungry Ghosts by Jasper Becker and Wild Swans by Jung Chang.
Martin Booth was a prolific author. He went with his parents to live in Hong Kong in 1952 when he was seven and was educated there. If you are interested in the history of the triads, then The Dragon Syndicates is a must-read. Sadly Martin died in 2004 after writing Gweilo about Hong Kong for his children.
My main source of research on the huge topic of the handover of the colony of Hong Kong to Chinese control with effect from 1st July 1997 is Hong Kong: the road to 1997 by Roger Buckley. Thank you, Roger.
A new site I discovered after writing The Mao Circle is Facts and Details compiled by Jeff Hays (I wish I had discovered this site earlier as it would have saved some research time). The Gwulo site remains my favourite for information on the history of Hong Kong, while a site I now subscribe to in order to keep in touch with Hong Kong today, and also its history, is Hongwrong.com. Thanks to Archive Farms which has a huge store of historical films and have granted me permission to use some old films of Hong Kong, and Michael Rogge’s films of old Hong Kong add to understanding what the colony looked like in the past.
My thanks as usual to Autocrit and Grammarly which continue to point out my multitude of basic writing errors, cover designer Bradley Wind, and web designers cannedSunlight. Then in late 2022, TLC Book Design picked up my three novels and began to lead me into publishing them professionally rather than just as amateur e-books, which I issued ten years ago.
Also thanks to my lovely wife, Jo, who puts up with me hiding away for days, and is always the first reader (and constructive critic), and author daughter, Diana, for encouraging, (often telling) me I can write better. Thanks also to my band of friends who encourage me to keep writing – Jack, Martin A, Martin C, Simon, Geoff, Gloria, and Bev.