Dr Andrew Hillier: The Alcock Album: Scenes of China Consular Life, 1843-1853 (Book launch)

Following the ending of the First Opium War and the signing of the Treaty of Nanjing in 1842, Britain opened five treaty ports on the Chinese mainland where foreigners were allowed for the first time to live and work normally under the eyes of their state’s consul. In establishing this presence, consular staff and their families faced numerous challenges, including unsuitable accommodation, illness, hostile local authorities, attacks from militias and pirates, while at the same time adjusting to an unfamiliar language and culture. Henrietta Alcock (1812–1853), the first wife of the British Consul, Rutherford Alcock, was little-known until an album of sketches and watercolours depicting her life in China came to light. Introducing this richly illustrated volume, Andrew’s talk will show how Henrietta’s life provides a unique picture of the treaty port world in its very earliest days and of her as an amateur artist, the wife of a consul and, most importantly, a woman in empire.

Dr Andrew Hillier is an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Bristol and a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society. He is the author of Mediating Empire: An English Family in China 1817–1927 (Renaissance Books, 2020) and editor of My Dearest Martha: The Life and Letters of Eliza Hillier (City University of Hong Kong Press, 2021). He has published articles in the Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History and Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society Hong Kong.

Published by City University of Hong Kong Press, the Alcock Album can be ordered from https://www.eurospanbookstore.com/boo...

Use the code “TWENTY” at checkout for a discount.