Last Days of Pekin

The author was an officer in the French navy. This book is a compilation of his experiences when stationed in China in 1900 during and immediately after the Boxer Rebellion. It contains descriptions of the horrors of war, but more significantly a detailed description of the mysterious civilisation into which the occupying ("barbarian") forces intruded. The story is told with sympathy and admiration despite a degree of colonial chauvinism. (Summary by Peter Tucker)