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.Three other books — Paul A.Cohen’s China and Christianity, Christopher Hibbert’s The Dragon Wakes, and Harry A.Franck’s compendious Roving Through Southern China — were wonderfully informative about China in transition from imperial to modern times.For more recent events, Rod MacFarquhar’s three-volume work, The Origins of the Cultural Revolution, details the slow-burning development of the cataclysm with unmatched authority.In another dimension, an indefatigable but ever-youthful veteran of many long literary campaigns, my Boston editor, William D.Phillips, made as great a contribution to this novel as he did to Sagen — which was very considerable indeed; in London, Victoria Petrie-Hay also gave sustained and valuable editorial assistance.Susan Stewart typed and word-processed the last of three books for me with typical speed and efficiency before going off to become Susan Poulson — she is already greatly missed; Brian McVay and Kenneth Brown provided research assistance that turned out to be vital, as did Simon and Liz Woodside; and others who gave generously of their time and expertise include Ged Lavery, Senator the Reverend Peter Manton of Jersey, Christopher Manton, and Chinese friends Sun Shyi-ren, Tseng Yung-kwang, Yang Sy-kung, and Wang Chihfa.I’m indebted in different ways also to staunch friends Vergil Berger, Ian Macdowall, Kim Davenport, David Alexander, Bob Wareham, and Geoffrey Smyth.In Peking I learned important lessons about the kinder side of human nature — which I hope are reflected in some ways in these pages — from “Hsiao” Kao, “Lao” Chiao (since deceased), “Lao” Wang, and Mrs.Hou.I take this belated opportunity to express my thanks with all sincerity.The nearest and dearest of my helpmates, Shirley Grey, again played a central and indispensable role in bringing this book to fruition, reading, advising, evaluating, and encouraging at every step taken through successive drafts of the six-thousand-mile manuscript.Kind encouragement and guidance were also offered by Professor Chang Lit-sen, now of Lexington, Massachusetts.Professor Chang, a church minister and author of more than a hundred publications on Chinese law, politics, and religion, made me aware of one of the most intriguing minor facts to emerge from three years of research.In June 1978, in Toronto, Dr.Chang baptized as a Christian one of the cofounders with Mao Tse-tung of China’s Communist Party.He was Chang Kuo-tao, the forceful general who had headed the Fourth Front Army and challenged Mao head-on for the leadership of the Communist movement at Fupien during a crucial stage of the Long March in the far west.General- Chang, who defected to the Kuomintang in 1938 after being worsted in the power struggle, called Dr.Chang to Toronto specially to carry out the baptism – and died a Christian believer in Canada a few months later.About The AuthorCareerDetention in China (1967 - 1969)While working for Reuters in Beijing in July 1967 he was confined to the basement of his house by the Chinese government, ostensibly for spying, but really in retaliation for the jailing of eight left-wing journalists who had violated emergency regulations in Hong Kong.China demanded the release of the eight before Grey would be released.While the eight were eventually released, China then demanded the release of a further 13 Chinese jailed in Hong Kong.The Hong Kong government refused.Grey was able to communicate by mail with his mother and girlfriend back in England, but was only allowed two 20-minute visits by British consular officials in the first 17 months of his confinement, and was never formally charged.He was released in October 1969 after 27 months of captivity.Upon his return to Britain he was awarded the "Journalist of the Year" prize for 1969 at the IPC National Press awards, and an OBE.Later CareerHe published various stories and articles in such magazines as Playboy, Punch and The Illustrated London News.Between 1974 and 1979 he was a presenter on Twenty-four Hours, a daily international affairs program on the BBC's World Service.He produced television documentaries for the British TV stations BBC and ATV World.These include Return to Peking in which he described changes in China since his imprisonment, and Return to Saigon, in which he visited Vietnam for the first time, subsequent to his successful novel Saigon.In the late 1980s Grey's experience as a political hostage led him to found Hostage Action Worldwide, which worked for the release of other political hostages, in particular John McCarthy, Brian Keenan, Terry Waite and others held by Islamic groups in the Middle East.From the 1990s Grey took an interest in UFOs.He produced a three-part documentary in 1996-1997 for the BBC World Service entitled 'UFO's - fact, fiction or fantasy?'.His conclusion was that there is overwhelming evidence for visitations to earth by extra-terrestrials.Personal LifeIn 1970 Grey married Shirley McGuinn (16 December 1932 - 24 November 1995), his girlfriend at the time of his imprisonment in China.They had two daughters, and divorced in 1992.From 1969 to 1973 the Greys lived in Jersey, and subsequently in London, West Sussex and Norwich.PublicationsGrey's publications include:Fiction / NovelsSome Put Their Trust in Chariots (1973)Crosswords from Peking (1975)The Bulgarian Exclusive (1976)The Chinese Assassin (1978)Saigon (1982)The Prime Minister Was a Spy (1983)Peking: A Novel of Chinas Revolution 1921-1978 (1988)The Bangkok Secret (1990) based around the real-life mysterious shooting death of Thailand's King Rama VIIIThe Naked Angels (1990)A Gallery of Nudes (1992)Tokyo Bay (1996)The German Stratagem (1998)Short story collectionsA Man Alone (1972)What is the Universe In? (2003)Non-FictionHostage in Peking (1970) recounting his experiences in Chinese captivityQuest for Justice: Towards Homosexual Emancipation (1992)Speaking of Sex: The Limits of Language (1993)Hostage in Peking Plus (2008)The Hostage Handbook: The Secret Diary of a Two-Year Ordeal in China (2009)
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