Our Hart

Our Hart is the long awaited sequel to My Splendid Concubine by author, Lloyd Lofthouse. It continues on with Inspector General Sir Robert Hart’s life and job in China till his retirement in the early nineteen hundreds. Robert can’t get over the death of Shao-mei. Though, luckily for Robert, he has Ayaou, his other concubine and his loyal servant Guan-jiah to keep him company. Every time that Robert got promoted and had to move, he made sure that Ayaou and Guan-jiah accompanied him. Partly, this was because Robert feared that Payne Hollister would track him down and take Ayaou away from him like he did Shao-mei.

I found it intriguing all the events that took places while Sir Robert Hart was in China. He did play a very instrumental part in helping China and preserving their dynasty. The relationship that Robert and Ayaou shared was both a sad and a loving one. Sad because Robert never married Ayaou. She would always be thought of to others as his concubine but she was much more then a concubine. She was Robert’s strength. Mr. Lofthouse has done a wonderful job bring to life Sir Robert Hart. A person who I knew nothing about till reading these novels. After finishing these books, I feel that Mr. Lofthouse can not write a bad book. Everything he writes is gold. I anxiously await to see what Mr. Lofthouse writes next.