‘[A] gripping and meticulously researched account of an epic effort to transport delicate scrolls, paintings and carvings thousands of miles under the threat of bombing and invasion’ Rana Mitter, Times Literary Supplement

‘Brilliant and thrilling… A tale of daring and adventure… A desperate race against time’ Paul French, South China Morning Post
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The gripping true story of the intrepid curators who saved China’s finest art from the ravages of the Sino-Japanese War and World War II.

Spring 1933. The silent courtyards and palaces of Peking’s Forbidden City are tense with fear and expectation. Japan’s aircraft drone overhead; its troops and tanks are only hours away. All-out war between China and Japan is coming, and the curators of the Forbidden City are faced with an impossible question: how will they protect the vast imperial art collections in their charge?

The magnificent collections contain a million pieces of art – objects that carry China’s deepest and most ancient memories. Among them are irreplaceable artefacts: exquisite paintings on silk, vanishingly rare Ming porcelain and the extraordinary Stone Drums of Qin, which are adorned with 2,500-year-old inscriptions of crucial cultural significance.

For sixteen terrifying years, under the quiet leadership of museum director Ma Heng, the curators would go on to transport the imperial art collections thousands of miles across China – up rivers of white water, across mountain ranges and through burning cities. In their search for safety the curators and their fragile, invaluable cargo journeyed through the maelstrom of violence, chaos and starvation that was China’s Second World War.

Told for the first time in English and playing out across a vast historical canvas, this is the exhilarating story of a small group of men and women who, when faced with war’s onslaught on civilisation, chose to resist.

‘Fascinating… Brookes marries a reporter’s grasp of detail with a novelist’s narrative flair to bring clarity and readability to a complicated period of China’s troubled history’ Mail on Sunday

‘Above all a story of inherited resilience, strength of character and self-determination’ Observer

Chinese dissident. Ground-breaking artist. Global icon.

Here, through the sweeping, extraordinary story of his own and his father’s lives, Ai Weiwei tells an epic tale of China over the last 100 years.

He recounts a childhood in exile in a desolate place known as ‘Little Siberia’, his move to America as a young man and eventual return home, then his rise from unknown to art-world superstar and international human rights activist – and how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime.

1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows is a story of exceptional creativity and passionate political beliefs, and a timely reminder of the urgent need to protect freedom of expression.

*A GUARDIAN AND OBSERVER BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021*

‘Intimate, unflinching … an instant classic’ Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition

“This is such an important, brave book that sheds a calm, bright light on the complexity of history at a time when simplistic assumptions have become the norm. It is truly brilliant” Elif Shafak

Why was there a Turkish mosque adorning Britain’s most famous botanic garden in in the eighteenth century? And more importantly, why is it no longer there? How did one of the great symbols of an Indian king’s power, a pair of Persian-inscribed cannon, end up in rural Wales? And who is the Moroccan man that stole British hearts depicted in a long forgotten portrait hanging in a west London stately home?

Throughout Britain’s galleries and museums, civic buildings and stately homes, relics can be found that beg these questions and more. They point to a more complex national history than is commonly remembered. These objects, lost, concealed or simply overlooked, expose the diversity of pre-twentieth-century Britain and the misconceptions around modern immigration narratives.

Hidden Heritage powerfully recontextualises the relationship between Britain and the people and societies of the Orient. In her journey across Britain exploring cultural landmarks, Fatima Manji searches for a richer and more honest story of a nation struggling with identity and the legacy of empire.

“A timely, brilliant and very brave book” Jerry Brotton, author of This Orient Isle: Elizabethan England and the Islamic World

“A compelling read about a history of Britain rarely cited and one that enriches an understanding of our complex, intriguing and wonderful past” Daljit Nagra