Sarah Rose on FOR ALL THE TEA IN CHINA begins at the 15 minute mark
You are currently browsing the archive for the For All the Tea in China category.
With her probing inquiry and engaging prose, Sarah Rose paints a fresh and vivid account of life in rural 19th-century China and Fortune’s fateful journey into it…if ever there was a book to read in the company of a nice cuppa, this is it.
In “For All the Tea in China,” the most eventful era of the tea plant gets the inspired treatment it deserves. – Minneapolis Star Tribune
Pause to reflect that the tea you are enjoying is totally hot — as in, stolen! Nabbed! Ripped off! Nothing more than the subject of international corporate espionage! – Chicago Sun Times
The spy who loved tea. The Express (p1, p2)
The most fun and exciting new book I have read this year. Beijing Today
Rose has done well. – South China Morning Post, Hong Kong
This story is nothing less than remarkable. San Francisco Book Review
Sarah Rose’s history of how tea came to be cultivated outside China reads like an adventure yarn.…That he succeeded, lived to tell tale is nothing short of amazing, Rose does full justice in her appealing book. - Charlotte Post and Courier
The plot for Sarah Rose’s “For All the Tea in China” seems tailor-made for a Hollywood thriller…a story that should appeal to readers who want to be transported on a historic journey laced with suspense, science and adventure.
19th-century industrial spy stole no.1 drink – Associated Press
All hail the hero of tea: A Tempest in a Teapot — University of Chicago Magazine
Read excerpts from FOR ALL THE TEA IN CHINA at Smithsonian Magazine.
For All the Tea in China releases in North America on March 18, and the reviews are starting to arrive:
A delicious brew of information on the history of tea cultivation and consumption in the Western world…a remarkably riveting tale. Booklist, (starred review)
Journalist Rose is a rarity, an author who skillfully narrates her own lush work, capturing every nuance perfectly. Library Journal, (starred review)
Sarah Rose steeps us in the story of Robert Fortune. National Geographic Traveler
“Written in an engaging and lively tone, Sarah Rose’s book is as much an adventure story as a piece of history.” Catholic Herald
Bloggers are pouring on praise too, people not related to me and not paid to read my book:
You easily picture the movie version with its Indiana Jones for the botany set. Who knew tea could be so…hot? Food for Thought at Barnes&Noble
The BBC chose FOR ALL THE TEA IN CHINA as Book of the Week.
Listen to all 5 episodes, with Maureen Beattie reading.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Yes, it’s true! Read by the author herself. For All the Tea in China will be available as an audiobook on March 18.
That’s a pretty nice looking catalog cover, no?
For All the Tea in China
The US cover, from Viking Publishers.
For All the Tea in China is the Telegraph’s top choice for the week.
For All the Tea in China is BBC4’s Book of the Week – all week, and for the next two. HERE.
Geographical Magazine, the Royal Geographical Society’s official mouthpiece, weighs in:
Gastronomic pleasure is all about the details: always add a tiny splash of water to whisky to release the hidden aromas; never eat cheese straight from the fridge. There is a trick to making a cup of tea, too, as Sarah Rose reveals in her entertaining new book.
Country Life is a very English magazine, and they seem to approve.
What a hero he is, disguising himself as Chinese with a long black pigtail to venture into China’s alarming hinterland to smuggle out tea plants….He had to face all 19th Century China’s perils — bandits, cannibalism, fevers and pirates. This, and the detailed description of how tea is made from raw camellia leaves will ensure you value your cuppa as never before.
I just read my Amazon page.
Review
Rose’s account is full of colour
–The TimesReview
Reshapes into gripping prose Fortune’s own memoirs and letters … An enthusiastic tale of how the humble leaf became a global addictionReview
The best parts of the book are not the dangers that Fortune encountered, but Rose’s assured, confident descriptions of the manufacture of tea. Like Fortune, the reader goes on a journey of discoveryReview
[Fortune's] story is well worth the telling, and despite the dearth of private papers, Rose does so with skill and restraintReview
Reveals our cuppa wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for an amazing Victorian, armed only with a rusty pistol and a pigtail, who stole the secret of tea from under the nose of China’s ruthless warlordsScotland on Sunday
A compelling sketch of the world of globalisation before instant information, and transforms a modest Scottish botanist into a swashbuckling pirate capitalist … A genuinely curious and evocative yarn
The Tattler and the Resident are on Robert Fortune’s side.
Travel? You dare not read the amazing For All the Tea in China by Sarah Rose. It’ll get you going – in disguise, yet.
Tags: For All the Tea in China, Hutchison, Reviews, Robert Fortune, UK edition
He is not my mother, I’ve never even met him, but he lives in China and said “I couldn’t put the book down.” – This Is China Blog
Seems like the T-Ching likes Robert Fortune too - T Ching
“If you like tea (and presumably you do, or why would you be reading this blog?) go get it from your local library or bookshop or friend and read it.” – Tea For You and Me
Someone in Maine is pre-ordering her copy (ok, ok, so she’s a friend, but still…) - Travels With Hillary
