I have now read quite a number of little known or privately published books written by Old Shanghailanders. Taken away from a past that seemed a lot of fun and was never to be reached again, many of them told their story in their old age. A few of them include Shanghai Saga by John Pal, Stateless in Shanghai by Liliane Willens, Sin City by Ralph Shaw and others that I never had time to write about. Memoirs often a direct account of Old Shanghai, recreating the atmostphere behind the facts, and often contains many informations that can be crossed reference. I recently ran into one that was informative, a good read and leading to finding new facts about Old Shanghai.
Like many of today’s expatriates, Harry Virden Bernard came to Shanghai sent by a company wanting to expend its business i