Secret love letters reveal torrid affair of 1920s British businessman in Shanghai

Jul 18 2010 by Paul Cole, Sunday Mercury

THEY are the long lost letters that reveal a torrid tale of forbidden love in 1920s China.

The bundle of postcards and letters lay unnoticed in someone’s attic, waiting for their sorry story to be told.

It wasn’t until Sutton Coldfield collector Douglas Coleman bought them that their secrets spilled out.

The dangerous liaison between a British businessman and a married woman was charted in letters that spoke first of romance but soon turned to desperation, regret and tearful goodbyes.

Also in the bundle were letters from a young Chinese woman, together with the evocative photographs she sent her beloved.

Now, they have been turned into a novel by Douglas’ wife Christine Coleman, who has given the mystery lovers a fictional twist, spinning the story of their lives – and guessing what might have happened next.

“As part of my husband’s collection, he sometimes ends of up with boxes of bits and pieces,” says Christine, 62.