Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Foreign Mud is one of the most distinguished of Maurice Collis' works of history. This account of the struggle between the British and Chinese in the Opium War in Canton in the 1830s has a vividness that comes from 20 years of experience in the Far East as a civil servant. 'The story of the Opium War does not lend itself to natural composition; it violates all the established rules of dramatric art; it does not begin at the right moment and it prolongs its end long after the climax has been reached. Collis has handled this intraceable material with surety of touch . . . The result is a self-contained narrative, lucid, balanced and creating a untiy of impression . . . so lucid, so human, so amusing, and so fair.' Daily Telegraph

Foremost among the biographies that Maurice Collis wrote during his wide-ranging literary career is Siamese White - an account of the career of Samuel White of Bath who, during the reign of James II, was appointed by the King of Siam as a mandarin of that country. The book superbly embodies that old adage - truth is stranger than fiction. 'A magnificent story, full of interest and excitement, but there is more to it than that. Collis, who has lived for years on the scene of these high happenings, is able to give us a first-hand picture of a fascinating land: of a lovely archipelago, of rivers and rapids, of an immemorial track through jungles haunted by tigers and malaria.' Evening Standard

"This is an unpretentious book, but it brings out with unusual clearness the dilemma that faces every official in an empire like our own." George Orwell TRIALS IN BURMA recounts Maurice Collis' experiences as a district magistrate in Rangoon in the late 1920s. The book recounts his gradual realisation that far from administering an impartial system of justice, he is expected to protect British interests. Wriiten in a cool dispassionate style, Collis describes how - be choosing integrity over career, he eventually loses his job. "A brilliant, direct and extraordinarily vivid account of this troubled period...a masterly survey of the Burmese scene." Daily Mail

In short story format this book examines leadership in the context of the Charlemagne Code of Chivalry and covers a range of problems Leaders may face in their daily working lifes. The choices Leaders make will determine their level of integrity and how well they will be trusted by those they lead.

The book commences in India at the time of Britain's domination of the World Indigo market in the late 1800s. A series of incidents during that period have repercussions throughout the years that follow.

This is a new release of the original 1947 edition.

An Account Of The Opium Imbroglio at Canton In the 1830's and The Anglo-Chinese War that followed.

Contents Include: Portuguese Asia - Golden Goa - Friar Manrique sets out - Friar Manrique in Danger of Decapitation - Demonism - Among the Slavers of Dianga - Startling News - The Tiger - The Colloquy in the Jungle - The Image on the Pass - The Admiral - The Comptroller General of the Household - The Audience - The Blessed One - The Five Taslims - The Dedication of the Church - The Debate with the Royal Chaplain - The White Elephant - The Tooth - The Grand Dowager - Toys for the Princes - The Taking of Hugli - Friar Manrique is Appointed Attache - Friar Manrique takes the Yellow Robe - The Elixir - Prelude to the Coronation - The Coronation - Friar Manrique is Taken for a Slaver - The Strange Murder of King Thiri-Thu-Dhamma - The Murder of Friar Manrique - Concluding Observations - List of Principal Authorities

Gareth's parents die in a tragic car accident. Yet his investigations show that it was no accident and he discovers his father deliberately drove the car over a cliff. This leads him on a search which uncovers the mystery of his parents' lives during the war years and after. Gareth keeps a secret and he comes to realise that his parents also have secrets which they have kept. But no secret can stay locked away forever and the secrets of the past spring forward to disturb the equilibrium of Gareth's life and those around him.

An Account Of The Opium Imbroglio at Canton In the 1830's and The Anglo-Chinese War that followed.

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. Hesperides Press are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

An Account Of The Opium Imbroglio at Canton In the 1830's and The Anglo-Chinese War that followed.

A hybrid of history and biography, Maurice Collis's The Land of the Great Image concerns a little-known Portuguese friar abroad in early seventeenth-century Asia. The book chronicles the great diplomatic coup of Friar Manrique's career, opening the kingdom of Arakan, now Burma (land of the "great image" of the Buddha) to the Church and to Portuguese trade, Dispatched from Goa, capital of the now almost forgotten Portuguese empire in Asia, Manrique made his way across and around the Bay of Bengal, surviving shipwreck, tigers, and pirates, to reach the court of King Thiri-thu-dhamma. And all along Manrique's way the author waits at every turn with another curiosity, another historical tidbit for the reader to relish. Collis notes how trials of the Inquisition were run (which too had set up shop in Goa); the luxury enjoyed by Europeans in the East; what was served for dinner at court; how elephant warfare was waged; and what went into a potion magically brewed to bring glory to King Thiri-thu-dhamina (the hearts of 2,000 white doves, 4,000 white cows, and 6,000 of his subjects).