Destination Macao

For the third in his acclaimed Destination series, Paul French journeys to the former Portuguese enclave of Macao, for him as much a place of the imagination as of reality. Constantly portrayed as the louche, sinful sister of Hong Kong, it was also a key trade entrepôt and early melting pot on the South China Sea. From the Macao of artists George Chinnery and George Smirnoff, the writers Deolinda da Conceição and Maurice Dekobra, to the pulp fiction fantasies and cinematic fever dreams of Josef von Sternberg and Jean Delannoy; from those like Dr Pedro Lobo and Ian Fleming who came to Macao to chase gold as well as those who sought refuge from war and the combatants who sought secret passage through 'neutral' Macao; from the earliest days of the China coast trade and its assorted cast of adventurers to the bizarre tales the changing times in the colony created. Did Japan really try to buy Macao in 1934? Who really sailed with Macao's pirate queen Lai Choi San? Who were the Portuguese rebels who sought to declare Macao a republic in the 1920s?Following the format of Destination Shanghai and Destination Peking, Destination Macao contains 18 true stories of fascinating people who lived in or visited Macao in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Author: Paul French
Publisher: Blacksmith Books
Published: 05/31/2025
Pages: 320
Binding Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9789887674825

About the Author
Born and currently based in London, Paul French lived and worked in China for many years. After a career as a widely published analyst and commentator on China he is now a full-time author, focusing on China and Asia in the first half of the twentieth century. His true crime book Midnight in Peking was a New York Times Bestseller, a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, a Mystery Writers' of America 'Edgar' award winner for Best Fact Crime, and a Crime Writers' Association (UK) 'Dagger' award for non-fiction. His Kirkus-starred book City of Devils: A Shanghai Noir focuses on the dancehalls, casinos and cabarets of wartime Shanghai. Both books are being adapted for film and television. French is a regular contributor to publications including Literary Hub, Financial Times Weekend, Mekong Review, CNN, and Crime Reads. His audio drama productions include Peking Noir for BBC Radio 3, and the twelve-part Audible Original, Murders of Old China.