Opium and Empire

A riotously entertaining book. John Sandoe [Books] Ltd. London A comprehensive and engaging chronicle. Wall Street Journal A painstakingly researched and illuminating study of the two men who put together the soon thriving commercial concern that still bears their names. Northern Scotland Opium and Empire is a fine book that should command scholarly interest. It is crisply written, absorbing, and Grace successfully challenges prevailing interpretations of Jardine and Matheson. Far from their caricature-like portrayals as `sinophobe warmongers' and `drug lords', the book reveals the partners' complex, multifaceted characters. Journal of Scottish Historical Studies Richard Grace has produced a well-structured and readable book which approaches the so-called Opium War from a refreshingly new angle, exploring the growing tensions on the China coast through the perspectives of the two men who established themselves as the dominant merchants there ... Whether Grace's conclusions will settle historical debate about the driving force for war remains to be seen, but this study will be a point of scholarly reference for many years to come. English Historical Review Grace provides an intricately researched exposition of the complexities, rivalries, and corruption involved in China's tightly controlled trade with the 'barbarian west' and how Jardine and Matheson were best at the game. Choice