GAI-JIN,

meaning foreigner, is set in Japan, in 1862. It is not history but fiction. Many of the happen­ings did occur according to historians and to books of history which, of themselves, do not necessarily always relate what truly happened. Nor is it about any real person who lived or is supposed to have lived, nor about any real company. Kings and queens and emperors are correctly named, as are a few generals and other exalted persons. Apart from these I have played with history—the where and how and who and why and when of it—to suit my own reality and, perhaps, to tell the real history of what came • to pass.3

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About the Author

James Clavell is a half-Irish Englishman who was born in Australia and now lives mostly in Canada and the States. He was brought up in England and served as a captain in the Royal Artillery during the war. In 1942 he was captured by the Japanese and sent to Changi. His first bestselling novel, KING RAT, is based upon his experiences there.

After the war James Clavell went into the film business and has written the screenplays of such highly successful films as The Great Escape. He har written, produced and directed four films, including To Sir with Love and The Last Valley. KING RAT was followed by TAI-PAN, an even greater bestseller which spent nearly a year on the American bestseller lists. Next came the superb SHOGUN, an epic novel set in seventeenth-century Japan. After his magnificent story of Hong Kong, NOBLE HOUSE, came THE CHILDREN'S STORY, a chilling tale, not just for children.

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JAMES CLAVELL’S ASIAN SAGA
so far consists of:

1600 SHOGUN
1841 TAI-PAN
1862 GAI-JIN
1945 KING RAT
1962 NOBLE HOUSE
1979 WHIRLWIND