I worked as a teacher in Yantai, China for a year, so I’m always interested in the stories of the expat English teachers before me, and I’m so pleased to see this history getting more attention. Yantai, a coastal city in Shandong, China, was a treaty port in the Opium Wars. When I moved there in 2006, I’d expected there to still be some foreign influence, after all, Qingdao was held by Germany and has Bavarian style houses and the famous German brewery. But in Yantai, there are still some remaining foreign houses in Yantai Park, but they’re not exactly a tourist attraction (like Shanghai’s French Concession), after being used as prisons for foreigners under the Japanese occupation of Shandong Province. It’s discussed in this This American Life story. which talks about the Girl Guides under occupation. There’s also an article in the Birmingham Mail about a British woman who was attending boarding school, and ended up in Chefoo Concentation Camp. These true stories of Girl Guides trying to keep cheerful was was drew me to this novel.
Fans of this one might also enjoy the nonfiction novel Lilla’s Feast, based on the author’s grandmother’s diaries and letters. This story covers years and years of Lilla’s real life, but one section involves expat life in Chefoo. British expat Lilla wrote an imaginary cookbook while she was held in the camp and surviving on small, unpleasant rations.
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It is so strange that the ARC I got of this book has a different title "When We Were Young and Brave" which I don't like as much as this.