All events listed here are manually curated for readers of What’s on Weibo, with a focus on Chinese (digital) culture, language, society, history, and broader China insights. Many of these events are hosted around the world.
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📚 Paul French: Wallis Simpson’s Lost Years in China (📍🇬🇧 Edinburgh)
📅 Date: Wednesday, August 20, 2025
🕒 Time: 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM BST
📍 Location: Spiegeltent, Edinburgh
🌐 Organizer: Edinburgh International Book Festival
🎟️ Tickets: £15.50 [£10.50 concession]
Languages: English
Accessibility: Captioned
🏷️ Description:
Award-winning historian and China expert Paul French delves into one of the lesser-known chapters in the life of Wallis Simpson — her extraordinary “Lotus Year” spent in 1920s China. In this talk, based on his new book Wallis Simpson: Her Lotus Year, French explores how the glamour, chaos, and political intrigue of Shanghai and beyond helped shape one of the 20th century’s most talked-about women. From whispers of scandal to the real stories uncovered in newly accessed archives, this session offers a fresh look at a figure often cloaked in myth. Chaired by journalist and broadcaster Isabel Hilton.
Topics: Modern China, Women in History, Biographical Non-fiction, 1920s Shanghai, Royal Affairs, Historical Scandal