About Pete @ Blacksmith

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So far Pete @ Blacksmith has created 293 blog entries.
22 December 2023

Constance Gordon-Cumming’s memorable Christmas in Hong Kong, 1878

2023-12-22T20:16:57+08:00December 22nd, 2023|book excerpt, hong kong|0 Comments

This is an excerpt from Wanderings in China: Hong Kong and Canton, Christmas and New Year, 1878/1879 by Constance Gordon-Cumming, a Victorian traveller and artist who arrived in Hong Kong on Christmas Day in 1878. It's introduced and annotated by Paul French as part of his China Revisited series. Merry Christmas, one and all, 145 years later!     Care [...]

14 December 2023

Royal Asiatic Society journal review: The Last Tigers of Hong Kong

2023-12-14T17:38:32+08:00December 14th, 2023|media attention, publishing|0 Comments

The Last Tigers of Hong Kong by John Saeki Reviewed by Thomas Gomersall in the 2023 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong ***** As a lifelong wildlife enthusiast, and a more recent history enthusiast, I find it striking how rarely we seem to examine the two side-by-side, given our long association with animals through the ages. As an [...]

30 March 2023

Book signing: Hong Kong football legend Derek Currie

2023-03-30T03:25:25+08:00March 30th, 2023|authors, events, hong kong|0 Comments

When Scottish footballer Derek Currie was made an offer to travel to Hong Kong in 1970 to play against the one sportsman he had dreamed of meeting on the field, he couldn't say no. From apprentice printer in Glasgow to playing football against Pelé in the Far East, singing with Stevie Wonder and shadow-boxing with Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Currie enjoyed [...]

11 March 2023

The launch of “China Revisited”, a new series of rediscovered travelogues

2023-03-11T00:59:46+08:00March 11th, 2023|events, new books|0 Comments

China Revisited is a new series of extracted reprints of mid-19th to early-20th century Western impressions of Hong Kong, Macao and southern China. The series comprises excerpts from travelogues or memoirs written by missionaries, diplomats, military personnel, journalists, tourists and temporary sojourners. They came to China from Europe or the United States, some to work or to serve the interests [...]

2 March 2023

Strange Tales of Old Macao: a Paul French book talk

2023-03-02T18:37:51+08:00March 2nd, 2023|authors, events|0 Comments

Did Japan try to buy Macao in 1936? Were the men who declared Macao a republic in 1930 revolutionaries or extortionists? Paul French sails across the Pearl River on Friday evening to give a talk at the Livraria Portuguesa (Portuguese Bookshop) in the city's historic central district. The bookshop is at 16-18 Rua de Sao Domingos. No charge, all welcome. [...]

26 January 2023

Murder on the Outlying Islands of Hong Kong! A book talk on January 28th

2023-01-26T22:28:42+08:00January 26th, 2023|authors, events, hong kong|0 Comments

For the next event at Vibe bookshop -- on Saturday 28th January at 2:30pm -- Patricia O'Sullivan will be discussing real-life Hong Kong murders from a century ago! Women carried out some of these crimes on Hong Kong's outlying islands like Cheung Chau and Lantau, as well as in the city. Patricia will also be signing copies of her newest [...]

26 January 2023

The Blacksmith Books story: a short film

2023-01-26T21:46:42+08:00January 26th, 2023|media attention, publishing|0 Comments

Nine River Films is a Hong Kong-based production company which makes feature films and short documentaries. I was pleased to be interviewed by them about the challenges and pleasures of book publishing. I picked a few of the books we have published over the years and explained what they tell us about Hong Kong's people and history. You can watch [...]

12 October 2022

Booksigning event, October 12: The Chakrata Incident with Neville Sarony

2022-10-12T00:07:08+08:00October 12th, 2022|authors, events, new books|0 Comments

You are invited to the launch of The Chakrata Incident, 6pm-7pm, Wednesday October 12. Come to Bookazine in Prince's Building, meet multi-talented author Neville Sarony and get your book signed! Neville's military thrillers draw on his own experience as an army officer. What's the new book about? Here's the blurb. Major Max Devlin, poised for a commanding post in the [...]

10 June 2022

Podcast: Mark Isaac-Williams, The Hong Kong I Knew

2022-06-10T00:51:24+08:00June 10th, 2022|authors, hong kong, media attention, new books|0 Comments

Returning to Hong Kong in 1947 after the Japanese occupation, seven-year-old Mark Isaac-Williams had the whole of Kowloon as his playground. Billeted with his family in the once-grand but now dilapidated Peninsula hotel, his life was full of adventure – from the rooftop to the basement, he knew the hotel’s every inch. Roller-skating and horseback riding in Kowloon’s streets and [...]

19 October 2021

Join us at our book launch for a real Hong Kong mystery! Saturday, October 23rd

2021-10-19T23:03:17+08:00October 19th, 2021|events, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

You are invited to the launch of The Marvellous Adventures of Maggie and Methuselah: A Mystery in Hong Kong! If you love real-life mysteries about missing Hong Kong treasure, adventures in dark tunnels, and above all, crazy rhyme-loving African Grey parrots, you’ll love hearing Sarah Brennan's new story at 3pm on Saturday, 23rd October, at Bookazine, 3rd Floor, Prince's Building, [...]

16 August 2021

An artist reveals what life was like inside the legendary Walled City of Kowloon

2021-08-14T20:52:17+08:00August 16th, 2021|hong kong, new books|0 Comments

A new book of photographs and artworks reveals the reality of the Walled City of Kowloon – an astonishing and unique place which was the most densely populated spot on Earth. The Walled City was built on a small parcel of land in Hong Kong that was disputed by Britain and China, which meant neither country exercised full jurisdiction there. [...]

26 July 2021

New book: Love, Money and Friendships, by David T. K. Wong

2021-07-29T19:33:25+08:00July 26th, 2021|china, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

Attention, readers of previous titles by Hong Kong writer David T. K. Wong: Volume 4 of his memoirs has just been published. In other news, Wong has been offered an honorary Doctorate of Letters by the University of East Anglia in the UK for his contributions to literature. As far as we know, he is the only Hong Kong writer [...]

26 April 2021

Destination Peking: Zoom book talk by Paul French, April 28

2021-04-26T13:42:24+08:00April 26th, 2021|publishing|0 Comments

Bestselling author Paul French (Midnight in Peking, City of Devils) has returned to the theme of the Chinese capital to tell 18 true stories of fascinating people who visited the city in the first half of the 20th century. Now he is giving a talk on his new book, hosted by the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong. From the ultra-wealthy [...]

3 March 2021

Zoom event, March 3rd: Women, Crime and the Courts, Hong Kong 1841-1941

2021-03-03T07:04:20+08:00March 3rd, 2021|events, hong kong, new books|0 Comments

This free online talk is hosted by the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong. While women were filling the magistrates courts and prisons of the British Isles during the 19th century, a female criminal in Hong Kong was a rarity. Yet, often in response to the privations of grinding poverty, some did find themselves on the wrong side of the law. [...]

1 March 2021

Zoom talk by Paul French: “Destination Peking – Revisiting the City”, March 2

2021-02-28T18:30:09+08:00March 1st, 2021|authors, events|0 Comments

In this online talk to the Royal Geographical Society, well-known historian, raconteur and author Paul French talks of the Chinese capital, telling numerous true stories of fascinating people who visited the city in the first half of the 20th century.   From Bolsheviks and Nazis to artists and bank robbers, to English aesthetes, to transplanted New York Bowery Balladeers, he describes [...]

8 February 2021

As we welcome the Year of the Ox, which animal of the Chinese Zodiac are you?

2021-02-08T04:46:25+08:00February 8th, 2021|china, hong kong|0 Comments

Sarah Brennan is the author of the Chinese Calendar Tales series. She writes... People are always asking me “Which Chinese calendar animal am I?” So here’s a handy reference so you can work out what animal you are in the Chinese zodiac! Beside each animal is the name of the animal in beautiful Chinese calligraphy, given to me by Scotch [...]

15 January 2021

A new book of true stories from Paul French: Destination Peking

2021-01-15T20:02:16+08:00January 15th, 2021|china, new books|0 Comments

Bestselling author Paul French returns to the Chinese capital in Destination Peking to tell 18 true stories of fascinating people who visited the city in the first half of the 20th century. From the ultra-wealthy Woolworths heiress Barbara Hutton and her husband the Russian emigré Prince Mdivani, to the poor “American girl” Mona Monteith who worked in the city as [...]

18 December 2020

Published today – Women, Crime and the Courts: Hong Kong 1841-1941

2020-12-18T17:22:08+08:00December 18th, 2020|hong kong, new books|0 Comments

Kwan Lai-chun was sick of being made to feel second-class by her husband’s concubine; sick of her mother-in-law’s endless carping about the money she spent; sick of the whole family. Late one sticky, humid night, something snapped in her – and she grabbed the meat chopper. Within minutes, three people were dead: the concubine with over 70 gashes, many of [...]