Robert van Gulik with wife Shui Shih-fang 1946
Sample of authors
Gulik, Robert van
Robert Hans van Gulik was born in Zutphen, the Netherlands, and grew up in Batavia (now Jakarta) in the former Dutch East Indies, where his father served as a medical officer in the Dutch Army. Van Gulik’s father collected Chinese porcelain and passed his interest on to his son who taught himself Mandarin. Robert van Gulik was fascinated by Chinese history and culture, and he became an authority o...
Sample of authors
Smith, Ernest
Ernest Bramah, born Ernest Brammah Smith, was an English author, numismatist and creator of two of the most original characters in British fiction: the Chinese master storyteller Kai Lung and the blind detective Max Carrados. The stories are still read and appreciated, mostly in the UK. Smith was a recluse who refused to give interviews even though he became something of a celebrity in Britain....