Sometimes, the lifes of 'ordinary' people can illuminate major events in a way that political history can't. Lilla was born and brought up in China, the twin daughter of a British businessman involved in the Opium Trade. Her life spans the Boxer Rebellion, marriage into the Raj, becoming a widow in WW1, returning to China, being interned by the Japanese in a camp, trying to pick up the pieces after the war, and escaping from the Communists in 1949. Lilla is a survivor, brought up to be a good wife - there was no other occupation for a woman of her class at the end of the 19th Century. Her story tells us of the heyday of Empire, the almost casual separation of families for long periods of time, the brutalities of Nationalism and War, the end of Empire and dislocation. An immensely readable book, with lots of family photographs, this is a great piece of detective work by a great grand-daughter, and sheds important life on many aspects of change in the last 100 years and more. Recommended.