In the valley of the Yangtze

About this book

A China-born daughter of American Episcopal missionaries tells a story of China that is little-known to both Chinese and Americans in this robust memoir. What were Americans doing in China in the 1920s and 30s, and how did an American child come to be born and raised there? Helen Roberts Thomas and her family were part of a vibrant international community in the Yangtze Valley in the first part of the 20th century. The community was made up of educators, missionaries, and doctors as well as technical and military advisors to the new Chinese government. Freshly topical amid the current American fascination with another new China, this coming-of-age story mingles history with culture, politics, and crossing paths with the famous. And yet it is also a family story: dedicated to the memory of her parents; dotted with sibling love, rivalry, rebellion, and achievement; and written in collaboration with her own daughter.