Synopses & Reviews
First published in 1936, this remarkable guidebook explores the seamier side of Shanghai, China, in the mid-1930s. Written by two pretty, dissolute foreigners living life to the fullest and working, at least partially, in a Whangpoo whiskey haze, this candid handbook focuses on the colorful nightlifeparticularly the sex and sinof the city. This is a hilarious and unique history of a covert Shanghai.
Review
"A riotously funny look at Old Shanghais pastimes, pleasures and puerilities." —JFK Miller, That's Shanghai
Review
"Absolutely the best guide to Shanghai in its most crazy and golden period by a pair of revelers who didn't give a damn." —Graham Earnshaw, author, Tales of Old Shanghai
Review
"Tael Lights evokes the relentless energy of Shanghai, the cacophony of its streets, and the many indescribable qualities which make it 'the most unique city in the world.' " —Maura Cunningham, the China Beat
Synopsis
Tael Lights, first published in 1936, is a guidebook to the seamier side of Shanghai in the mid-1930s, when it was at its most outrageous. The authors, two pretty dissolute foreigners living life to the fullest and working at least partially in a Whangpoo whiskey haze, stress the nightlife, particularly the sex and sin side of the city. Political correctness hardly enters into it.
About the Author
Maurine Karns was a writer and inhabitant of Shanghai during the 1930s. Pat Patterson was a Canadian pilot who represented all the major U.S. aircraft manufacturers in China in the 1930s.