Christopher West was born in 1954. He did a range of jobs after leaving school, then went to the LSE to read Philosophy, taking a special interest in Spinoza and Freud.

Fascinated by China since childhood, he went there as soon as it opened to individual travellers. The result of that trip was Journey To The Middle Kingdom (originally published 1991, now available in paperback).

The Wang Anzhuang / Rosina Lin novels followed. They have received critical acclaim and have been published on three continents.

He writes: "The idea for Wang Anzhuang came from a man I met in Shanghai, a police inspector who had a passion for justice. His values came totally from Chinese culture and owed nothing to the west - yet I felt we had a great deal in common."