The Boston Trader: Jefferson Flanders' New Historical Thriller, A Story of Americans in the China Trade

    BOSTON, MA, February 21, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The China trade of the late eighteenth century is the backdrop for The Boston Trader, a compelling new historical thriller by Jefferson Flanders.

The Boston Trader (Munroe Hill Press, paper, $15.00) tells the story of Calvin Tarkington, an American merchant-trader who finds himself enmeshed in the intrigues of the court of the Emperor Ch'ien-lung (Qianlong) in 18th century Ch'ing (Qing) Dynasty China.

Calvin is brought to Peking to face trial on trumped-up murder charges after witnessing the assassination of an Imperial investigator in the port of Canton, the sole city open to the foreign devil taipans, a killing that is somehow linked to a growing, but illicit, opium trade. He must prove his innocence by unmasking the real killers and their connection to the corruption, misrule, and hidden treachery threatening the very stability of the Dragon Throne.

"It's a fascinating period of history," Flanders says. "The China Trade of the 18th century became quite lucrative for Western traders. It began with an exchange of silver and ginseng for tea. Tragically, it later shifted into a trade of opium for tea, a development which damaged the fabric of Chinese society."

"In the novel, I've tried to capture the emerging tension between the Westerners and the Chinese--both cultures considered themselves superior to the other," Flanders adds. "That proved a recipe for long-term conflict and eventually led to the Opium Wars."

The Boston Trader is the second book in The Tarkingtons series of novels tracing the experiences of a New England family from the eighteenth century to today. It follows The Republic of Virtue, praised by Kirkus Reviews as "a gripping historical novel" and "a well-crafted page-turner" and which Bestthrillers.com called "riveting and spectacularly researched."

Jefferson Flanders is an author, educator, and independent journalist. During the course of his career, he has been a sportswriter, newspaper columnist, and publishing executive. He is the author of Cafe Carolina and Other Stories, The Girl from Recoleta and Other Stories of Love, and of the critically-acclaimed First Trumpet Cold War trilogy of Herald Square, The North Building, and The Hill of Three Borders.

For more information, please visit www.munroehillpress.com or www.jeffersonflanders.com.

Media contact: Astrid Sante
Munroe Hill Press
(857) 256-1406
http:munroehillpress.com
asante(at)munroehillpress(dot)com

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