Noble House Volume 2 Author:James Clavell "I swear by the Lord God that whomsoever produces the other half of any of these coins, I will grant him whatsoever he asks." Dirk Struan, June 10, 1841. — That was a promise made by the first of the tai-pans of the Noble House, the oldest and most important trading house in Hong Kong, and it was to be honred by all the tai-pans to follow. Now ... more »it was up to Ian Dunross to fulfill the ancient pledge.
The author of the world-famous King Rat, TAi-Pan and Shogun gives us a new novel filled with all the color, excitement and vivid detail for which he is noted. Hong kong, 1963, is more than the setting: it is the essence of the novel. For here is the story of the British, who are in charge of the Colony and its industry, and of the Chinese, who know how to deal with their rulers to their own advantage. into their midst come two Americans, expert in their own business and eager for a share of the Asian market but innocent of the unwritten rules of the Colon.
There is the smell of money in Hong Kong and the fight for it exists on every level- from the gambling fever of the third toilet maid to the rivalry of the leading tai-pans. For two of those rivals, Ian Dunross of Struan's- the Noble House - and Quillan Gornt of Rothwell-Gornt, it is a blood struggle that shows no signs of abating. The Noble House is in financial trouble and the fate of Hong Kong rests on what will happen to it. For Gornt it is the opportunity to destroy his rival. For Linc Bartlett and his beautiful chief executive, Casey Tcholok, it is a chance to pit one rival against another for their own purposes.
The action covers scarcely more than a week, but they are days of high adventure: from kidnapping and murder to financial double-dealing, mobs on the rampage, and natural catastrophes - fire, flood, landslide. yet they are days filled as well with all the glamor of the Orient- its parties, horse races and romance. Noble House is James Clavell's longest, most intricate and most ambitious novel, a briliant story that spans the history of Hong Kong.« less