Hundred Altars - Juliet Bredon 1936 - Kelly and Walsh, Shanghai - Special Far Eastern Edition. Unusually for Bredon’s works this was first published in London 1934, and later presented here as the Special Far Eastern Edition. published in Shanghai, and with the scarce dust and delicate Kelly and Walsh dust jacket. Normally the first editions of Bredon were published by Kelly and Walsh.

Hundred Altars is the name of a village in Northern China, an impressive first novel by Juliet Bredon, long term expatriate and author of several detailed historical and descriptive works on China. Penetrates the soul of that vast country, revealing its people, its customs, its struggles as they have seldom if ever been revealed before. The soul of a nation lies in the hearts of its peasantry, and it is of the peasantry that this novel so unforgettably deals. We see them here in the strange humility, with those traits of character so curious in our eyes, these men and women and children of the village of Hundred Altars; they live before us so vividly that the story becomes one of intense personal importance to the reader.’ - publishers description.
  Juliet Bredon was a British writer and resident of China, who wrote extensively on the customs and peoples of China, her earlier travel book, Peking, published in 1920 was regarded by foreigners of the time as the most comprehensive guide to the ancient city, and her later work Moon Year, published in 1927 covered those festivals in great depth. She was also the niece and biographer of Sir Robert Hart, the prominent British consular official based in China.

Provenance: Suzanne von Mandel, China with her signature dated 1940.

Octavo (book size 20.5x13.5cm), pp. [2] 352 [2]. In publisher’s orange cloth, spine and upper board lettered in black, top edge tinted orange. Dust jacket without price as published.
  Condition: Near fine, light spotting to foredge, very good dust jacket, toning to spine, light wear and rubbing to corners and spine ends with some minor loss to head of spine.   Ref: 111569   Price: HK$ 4,000