Synopsis

The Opium War offers a compelling and deeply researched account of the nineteenth-century conflict that reshaped China’s relationship with the world. Exploring the causes, events, and consequences of the Opium Wars, the book shows how trade, imperial ambition, and clashing worldviews collided with devastating results. Moving beyond simple military history, it examines how the wars influenced Chinese politics, national identity, and perceptions of the West, tracing their long-lasting impact on modern China. Clear, engaging, and thought-provoking, the book reveals how this pivotal episode helped shape global history and continues to echo into the present.

About the Author

Julia Lovell teaches modern Chinese history at Birkbeck College, University of London. She is the author of The Opium War: Drugs, Drama And The Making Of China, The Great Wall: China Against the World and The Politics of Cultural Capital: China’s Quest for a Nobel Prize in Literature and writes on China for the Guardian, Independent and The Times Literary Supplement. Her many translations of modern Chinese fiction include, most recently, Lu Xun’s The Real Story of Ah-Q, and Other Tales of China.