Few lives have embraced such upheaval and history as those of China’s boy ruler Puyi and his child bride Wanrong in the 1920’s. Cloistered within the Forbidden City, the imperial family was surrounded by scheming courtiers, fawning servants and corrupt eunuchs even after the Republic of China was declared in 1912. Puyi was an emperor without an empire, not knowing from one day to the next whether he would experience restoration or assassination. When the couple was finally expelled from the palace, the demise of China’s centuries-old Manchu dynasty coincided with battles between feuding warlords and the Japanese military's relentless advance into Chinese territory. Bestselling historian Paul French draws upon previously unpublished memoirs, diaries and letters to paint a compelling portrait of Puyi and Wanrong, from their royal wedding to the couple's two final years in the Forbidden City, as their empire collapsed. The moderator is foreign correspondent Melinda Liu

Paul French was educated in London and Glasgow. He lived and worked in China for many years. His book “Midnight in Peking” was a New York Times Bestseller while “City of Devils: A Shanghai Noir” prompted The Economist to write “… in Mr French the city has its champion storyteller.” His book “Her Lotus Year: China, the Roaring Twenties and the Making of Wallis Simpson” received positive reviews as well. His latest, “The Last Emperor of China”, a dramatic retelling of the story of China’s last emperor and empress - Puyi and Wanrong - was published August 2026.