Did Marco Polo go to China? by Frances Wood Secker & Warbury HK$235 WHAT a strange, flighty book this is, although to judge by the pre-publication publicity in Britain, the reader might have expected some kind of blockbuster instead of a mere 150 pages.
But the author deserves attention because of her position as the head of the Chinese Department at the British Library.
Her subject is a book written about 700 years ago by a Venetian merchant who happened to be in jail at the time. It was dictated to a fellow convict (who happened to be a hack writer) and consisted of the tremendously detailed and lengthy memories of a journey.
This trip, the author said, took him to Asia, included a 17-year stay in China as a diplomatic servant of Kublai Khan, and contained many amazing adventures.
His book is well worth reading. There is, however, no original manuscript. What we do have is about 140 copy manuscripts in various languages - and by various authors - each with their own interests to serve.
So far as one can judge, the book was a bestseller in an age when mechanical problems made bestsellers a rare commodity.
