Hui-lan Koo [Madame Wellington Koo]: An Autobiography, as Told to Mary Van Rensselaer Thayer

This is a colourful 1943 autobiography of Hui-lan Koo, known as Madame Wellington Koo, the then-wife of the famous Chinese diplomat Vi Kyuin Wellington Koo (1888-1985).Hui-lan Koo presents her China from a new angle, never mentioning floods, famines, or starving coolies. She is concerned chiefly with the fortunate few who played important roles in contemporary Chinese history. As leading lady of an uneasy age, she knew them all intimately; she speaks of them casually, these Chinese who possessed palaces, priceless jades, and beautiful concubines.This is the life of a Chinese lady, a noted beauty, born to fabulous wealth. She is the wife of Wellington Koo, China's most brilliant diplomat, later Ambassador to Great Britain. Madame Koo's life, both in Europe and the Orient, has been packed with excitement. She has presided over embassies in Paris, London and Washington. An irrepressible lady, the impressions make revealing reading. Read more