Earnshaw Books

29/03/2025

SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT - This week we're spotlighting Harmony Express by Thomas Bird 🛤🚅 If you love travel or living adventures through books, this one's for you!

“The Harmony Express is a locomotive read and salute to the legendary “Oriental Express”, but with Chinese characteristics. With countless hours spent on trains, Mr. Bird has done a tremendous service seeking out the nooks and crannies of the world’s longest and fastest rail network, from small villages to giant, skyscraper-festooned cities, all plugged into this unfathomably rich honeycomb of rail. This buoyant and colourfully reflective book is a lucid reminder that China has a one-track mind to develop as fast as possible, even if its citizens always don’t hear the whistle blow or know where the next train will go.” — Christopher Cottrell, Bangkok-based Asia Editor and Journalist

27/03/2025

THROWBACK THURSDAY - Did you know there were Irish missionaries in China in 1920? This is a largely unknown fact.

Our author Mark O'Neill explored the Irish diaspora in his memoir Out of Ireland. In Hong Kong, China and Japan, Mark discovered deep Irish footprints – missionaries, doctors, judges, lawyers, authors and jockeys. Two Irish nuns cured Hong Kong of tuberculosis, an Irish bandmaster wrote the music for Japan’s national anthem and a nun taught English and Gaelic to the future Empress Michiko of Japan. Mark followed the footsteps of his grandfather, a Presbyterian missionary who lived in a small town in northeast China for 45 years. He was delighted to find still standing the church his grandfather had built, with a minister and her congregation happy to welcome him.

Who knew?

26/03/2025

WEDNESDAY WORDS - This is an excerpt from the ever-exciting and inspiring Harmony Express by Thomas Bird. Who doesn't love an adventure?! Especially by train...

26/03/2025

Europeans in Hong Kong is OUT NOW!

This book is an enlightening and meticulously researched work that broadens our understanding of the city’s rich and diverse history.

25/03/2025

TOPIC TUESDAY - Mentions of Martial law have been in the news lately, but what do you know about it?

For starters, Martial law is the substitution of a civil government by military authorities with unlimited powers to suspend the ordinary legal protections of civilian rights. A state of martial law may be declared in response to a crisis or imposed during a coup. It is very rare, but it happens. Today, Myanmar is under Martial law. South Korea recently had 6 hours of it, news that came as quite a shock.

Our very own Earnshaw Books author Mark O'Neill lived in Taiwan when it was under Martial law which was controlled by the Republic of China Armed Forces of the Kuomintang-led regime. It was a 38-year-long rule which was qualified as "the longest imposition of martial law by a regime anywhere in the world" at the time. Read all about it in his book The Island.

25/03/2025

Great news for lovers of Mark O'Neill's writing... his next publication is almost here!

Interview with Mark O’Neill on his book Europeans in Hong Kong about continental contributions beyond British rule.

24/03/2025

MONDAY MEMORIES - Out of Ireland was our first publication by Mark O'Neill, who has since written The Island and, launching TOMORROW, Europeans in Hong Kong! He has done an enormous amount of quality writing in a short period of time and we're honoured to publish his work for you to enjoy!

23/03/2025

SUNDAY SNEAKPEEK - This week you get a sneak peek of The Phoenix and the Firebird! This was a HUGE release, with fans of the fascinating mix of Russian and Chinese folklore from all over the world. If you haven't already read it, what are you waiting for?

22/03/2025

SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT - This week we're spotlighting Susan Wan Dolling's Superstars - the first book of her My China in Tang Poetry series.

"This book makes me want to drop everything and do nothing but learn about Chinese poetry! Dolling brings poets Li Bai and Du Fu vividly to life, both in her translations and in the stories she tells about 8th-century China, along with her own memories about growing up in Hong Kong. The notes to the poems cover poetics, wordplay, proverbs, history, geography, legends, folk songs, festivals, food, flowers, and more — everything you need to fall in love with these poems, these poets, and their world." — Laura Gibbs, author of Aesop's Fables: A New Translation

20/03/2025

THROWBACK THURSDAY - Did you know that Chinese mythology is believed to have been born in the 12th century BCE, aligning with the Shang Dynasty (China's "first" dynasty)?

Though not as old as ancient Sumerian mythology, Chinese mythology is over 3000 years old making it one of the oldest belief systems in the world! Impressively, many famous Chinese myths and legends have been passed down over generations.

You may have heard of Sun Wukong, or Monkey King, a myth that found international recognition. But there are countless others that hold great significance within China, including the 4 Great Myths - Lady Meng Jiang, The Butterfly Lovers, The Legend of the White Snake and The Weaver Girl and the Cowherd.

Let us know if you've ever heard of any of these, and any others you know and love!

19/03/2025

WEDNESDAY WORDS - An excerpt from Susan Wan Dolling's Superstars, the first book in her 'My China in Tang Poetry' series.

The Tang Dynasty (618 to 907 AD) is considered to be China’s Golden Age of Poetry, and My China in Tang Poetry is a personal celebration of the genius of the Tang poets by writer, teacher and translator Susan Wan Dolling.

18/03/2025

📖A SUMMER LIKE THAT
🖊JANE LO
👇OUT NOW

https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Like-That-Jane-Lo-ebook/dp/B0F1RBLM6Q/

18/03/2025

TOPIC TUESDAY - In Chinese Mythology, the phoenix, or the fenghuang, is a creature that appears only in peaceful and prosperous circumstances. As such, it is the symbol of virtue, righteousness, courtesy, benevolence and faith.

Often the Chinese Dragon Loong and Phoenix Fenghuang, appear in pairs with the dragon representing the male and the phoenix representing the female, but they were not originally connected. Fenghuang is often considered to signify both male and female elements - 'feng' representing the male aspect and 'huang' the female. There are inscriptions with mentions of this symbol dating as far back as the very first dynasty (Shang)!

18/03/2025

We have a SPECIAL SURPRISE for you! With the publication of A Summer Like That, Jane Lo's previous publication All I Ever Wanted is re-releasing with a NEW COVER! How gorgeous are these books?

17/03/2025

MONDAY MEMORIES - Who remembers this much-loved release by Alice P**n? Set in a world of human conflicts, fantastical martial arts, sorcery and celestial magic, Alice P**n’s debut fantasy, The Heavenly Sword, follows a martial maiden’s heartbreaking adventures in her quest for love and justice.

17/03/2025

"...a captivating and nuanced exploration of the often-overlooked contributions made by various European communities to the fabric of Hong Kong’s history."

This book is an enlightening and meticulously researched work that broadens our understanding of the city’s rich and diverse history.

16/03/2025

SNEAKPEEK SUNDAY - This week you get a sneak peek at Murder in the Maloo as translated and introduced by Paul Bevan.

Translated into English and published here for the first time, this historical novel tells of the exploits of Ma Yongzhen, a martial artist and gangster who was ruthlessly murdered by rival gangs in 1879. The story takes the reader into the world of the Shanghai gangster and the o***m dens, courtesan houses, and teashops they frequented. It is very loosely based on a true story, as Ma Yongzhen was in fact an historical figure, who rode the horses of his native Shandong province and walked the streets of Shanghai in late Qing dyansty China.

***mhistory