Book review: Exotic elegance conceals the dangers of 1920’s Shanghai

The Shanghai Wife is Emma Harcourt’s first novel. Her writing style is beautiful; riddled with descriptive prose and glorious snapshots of the exotic richness of China’s elegant 1920s, along with the dangers lying on Shanghai’s rabbit-warren of streets.

Annie hails from the picturesque Maclean District in Northern NSW. Bored with life on her widowed father’s farm, she runs away to Sydney and then sails alone to Hong Kong – far away from a tragic past and with no idea what lies ahead.

Within a few days, she meets Alec, the First Officer. It doesn’t take long before this dashing seaman takes an interest in the attractive Australian to ensure she has a comfortable trip. Only two weeks after arriving in Hong Kong they are wed. With her new husband offering a far more exciting life than what awaits her back home, how can a girl resist?

When Alec is offered the captaincy of a Chinese riverboat plying the Yangtze river, much to her dismay, rather than joining him, she’s told, “A working boat is no place for a lady.” Finding herself alone and seemingly forsaken in this strange new and exotic land, Annie’s life is confined to the Shanghai International Settlement with its loneliness and only the malicious gossip of the Club Ladies for company. Out on Shanghai’s dusty streets, there are signs of growing unrest as workers start to rebel against low wages and the poor working conditions crippling the city.

The behaviour of Annie’s new ‘friends’ towards local servants appals her and she soon secretly befriends Chow, the maître d’hôtel. He seems to be a caring soul with an astute way of reading Annie’s frustration with the class system and her growing interest in the plight of his countrymen. Her only other allay is Natalia, a Russian newcomer, and another willing to buck this exclusive white supremacy system.

Through her friendship with Chow, Annie accidentally brings about the shocking and senseless death of a twelve-year-old servant boy. She is rocked by guilt and appalled at the harsh way of life in the Old District, where drug lords rule over illegal opium dens and sleazy brothels, and innocent Chinese are swept into their corruption. Residents along the dirty commune-like streets draw Annie in and her heart continually breaks over their plight. Things turn even more dangerous as locals try to oust the large influx of white foreigners to their shores.

And then the unthinkable happens. Two more deaths followed by a forbidden relationship – and then another murder, far more savage than the others. Annie suddenly finds herself swept up in the danger, but who can she trust and how will she survive?

I must confess I started becoming rather sceptical of the amount of seemingly impossible coincidences occurring when the pace picked up and certain shocking secrets were revealed. However, in saying that, The Shanghai Wife was still an enjoyable read.

This novel has been excellently researched and the main character, Anna,  is loosely based on the author’s grandmother. I would certainly like to read Emma Harcourt’s next novel.

The Shanghai Wife, by Emma Harcourt is available in printed or digital editions from the publisher HQ Fiction.