From Publishers Weekly
Well researched and buttressed by family memoirs, this adventure/romance set in the 1920s conveys the period of confusion preceding the Chinese Revolution. The British establishment, typified by the Mostyns of Shanghaia wealthy mercantile family with a madcap, "liberated" daughterare slow to face the reality of the revolutionary menace. Mostyn, a master manipulator, impresses the services of Major Mark Rawlings of the Royal Engineers, a heroic escapee from the Russian Civil War, to rebuild a trouble-plagued railway. Despite his misgivings, Rawlings succumbs to young Alexandra Mostyn. Their love story is threaded through scenes that illuminate Shanghai's corrupt subculture and heedless English ruling class, threatened by the imminence of the Kuomintang revolutionary army and the ambivalence created by Chiang Kai-shek. Scenes in which Rawlings copes with the savagery of superstitious coolies in rebuilding the haunted bridge are memorable.
From Library Journal
Romance and adventure are deftly blended in this novel set in 1920s China. Accustomed to wealth and privilege in the Shanghai British colony, Alexandra Mostyn epitomizes the daring, rebellious young women of her generation. Major Mark Rawlings of the Royal Engineers comes from a much less affluent background. Loaned by the Army to industrialist Garrard Mostyn, he is assigned to determine the cause of a collapsed railroad bridge and repair it. He must cope with rebellious workers who believe that dragons guard the river. The bridge construction and the couple's developing relationship are hampered by Alex's father, Mark's past, warring Chinese and Russian factions, and vindictive villagers. Drummond's fans will welcome this latest demonstration of her skill in depicting individuals and events.
Well researched and buttressed by family memoirs, this adventure/romance set in the 1920s conveys the period of confusion preceding the Chinese Revolution. The British establishment, typified by the Mostyns of Shanghaia wealthy mercantile family with a madcap, "liberated" daughterare slow to face the reality of the revolutionary menace. Mostyn, a master manipulator, impresses the services of Major Mark Rawlings of the Royal Engineers, a heroic escapee from the Russian Civil War, to rebuild a trouble-plagued railway. Despite his misgivings, Rawlings succumbs to young Alexandra Mostyn. Their love story is threaded through scenes that illuminate Shanghai's corrupt subculture and heedless English ruling class, threatened by the imminence of the Kuomintang revolutionary army and the ambivalence created by Chiang Kai-shek. Scenes in which Rawlings copes with the savagery of superstitious coolies in rebuilding the haunted bridge are memorable.
From Library Journal
Romance and adventure are deftly blended in this novel set in 1920s China. Accustomed to wealth and privilege in the Shanghai British colony, Alexandra Mostyn epitomizes the daring, rebellious young women of her generation. Major Mark Rawlings of the Royal Engineers comes from a much less affluent background. Loaned by the Army to industrialist Garrard Mostyn, he is assigned to determine the cause of a collapsed railroad bridge and repair it. He must cope with rebellious workers who believe that dragons guard the river. The bridge construction and the couple's developing relationship are hampered by Alex's father, Mark's past, warring Chinese and Russian factions, and vindictive villagers. Drummond's fans will welcome this latest demonstration of her skill in depicting individuals and events.
