The Ginger Griffin: Ann Bridge

Amber Harrison is glad to leave her native Cotswolds, after an unhappy love affair, for the delights of Peking and life in 1930s Legation society. She finds herself with two new admirers, both on the Legation staff - one is easy going, somewhat formally professional and shares her love of horses; the other is a poet intolerant of 'heartiness'. Outside the compound, with its cocktail parties and flirtations, lay the China of old with its exquisite temples, russet plains and a people whose endurance overcame famine and banditry. First published in 1934, this is a vivid portrayal of the privileged life led by Westerners in the East.