The five books an old China hand couldn’t live without: former diplomat Richard Margolis’ must-reads for a desert island

Margolis has gained wealth of knowledge after decades of working across China and Europe as a diplomat and businessman. In his spare time he loves to devour a good novel or two. Here are his favourite reads

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Richard Margolis has spent more than three decades working in China.

Published: 1:04pm, 20 Feb 2018Updated: 1:04pm, 20 Feb 2018

Richard Margolis is a former British diplomat, investment banker and businessman with more than 30 years’ experience in China. His diplomatic career saw him serve in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Beijing, Paris and Hong Kong, where he was part of the team that negotiated the agreement on Hong Kong’s future.

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Margolis left the diplomatic service in 1986 to pursue a private sector career. He worked in financial services for 15 years in Hong Kong, and then moved back to Beijing as Rolls-Royce’s regional director for Northeast Asia. He retired from Rolls-Royce in December 2011, and returned to live in Hong Kong. He now does consulting work.

Here are five books he would take to a desert island.

This Thing of Darkness

by Harry Thompson, 2005

I have a house in a village outside Beijing. We once had some friends over for old-fashioned English tea and scones, and one of them recommended this biography of Captain Robert FitzRoy, the captain of the Beagle, the ship on which Charles Darwin sailed.