Tai-Pan
"It is the early 19th century, when European traders and adventurers first began to penetrate the forbidding Chinese mainland. And it is in this exciting time and exotic place that a giant of an Englishman, Dirk Straun, sets out to turn the desolate island of Hong Kong into an impregnable fortress of British power, and to make himself supreme ruler-- Tai-Pan!"--P. [4] of cover.
Themes & atmosphere
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What you might want to know about Tai-Pan
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Second in the Asian Saga. After the British seize Hong Kong in 1841, Scottish trader Dirk Struan plans to make his Noble House the tai-pan of the new colony, against the older trading clan of his bitter rival Tyler Brock.
Tai-Pan (1966) is the second novel in James Clavell's Asian Saga, after Shogun in chronological order but before Shogun in publication order. The full saga has six novels covering different periods of European-Asian encounter.
Each novel in James Clavell's Asian Saga can stand on its own. Reading in publication order (King Rat, Tai-Pan, Shogun, Noble House, Whirlwind, Gai-Jin) preserves Clavell's writing chronology, but new readers often start with Shogun, the most famous.
Tai-Pan was written by James Clavell, published in 1966 by Random House Publishing Group.
Tai-Pan is 663 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Tai-Pan takes most readers 10 to 14 hours to finish.
Tai-Pan is a standalone novel by James Clavell, not part of a series.
Tai-Pan is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.