Noble House [Mass Market Paperback]

James Clavell (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 1, 1986

The setting is Hong Kong, 1963. The action spans scarcely more than a week, but these are days of high adventure: from kidnapping and murder to financial double-dealing and natural catastrophes–fire, flood, landslide. Yet they are days filled as well with all the mystery and romance of Hong Kong–the heart of Asia–rich in every trade…money, flesh, opium, power.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The last time I was so taken with a spellbinding safari was when I read Gone With The Wind."—Los Angeles Times.

“Clavell’s biggest triumph yet…storytelling done with dash and panache...a rousing read.” —Washington Post

“Fiction for addicts…extravagantly romantic…a book that you can get lost in for weeks…staggering complexity…not only is it as long as life, it’s also as rich with possibilities.” —New York Times

“Tremendous entertainment…a seamless marvel of pure storytelling.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer

“A mesmerizer…spellbinding.” —Los Angeles Times

“Breathtaking…only terms like colossal, gigantic, titanic, incredible, unbelievable, gargantuan, are properly descriptive.…Clavell has made himself the king of super-adventure thrillers.” —Chicago Tribune Book World

From the Publisher

The setting is Hong Kong, 1963. The action spans scarcely more than a week, but these are the days of high adventure: from kidnapping and murder to financial double-dealing and natural catastrophes -- fire, flood, and landslide. Yet they are days filled as well with all the mystery and romance of Hong Kong -- the heart of Asia -- rich in every trade... money, flesh, opium, power.

"The last time I was so taken with a spellbinding safari was when I read Gone With The Wind." -- Los Angeles Times.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 1376 pages
• Publisher: Dell (September 1, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440164842
• ISBN-13: 978-0440164845
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.9 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Clavell, who died in 1994, was a screenwriter, director, producer, and novelist born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Although he wrote the screenplays for a number of acclaimed films, including The Fly (1958), The Great Escape (1963), and To Sir With Love (1967), he is best known for his epic novels in his Asian Saga.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#86 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical

#99 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

#86 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Historical

#99 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Historical

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 60 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An incredible spellbinding read!! An all-time favorite! June 8, 2005

By JanSobieski

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Ian Dunross, in a driving torrential rain, arrives at the Struan Building in Hong Kong. There he meets with Alastair Struan, the current tai pan (ultimate ruler) of the Noble House. At this meeting Struan confers the title of tai pan on Dunross and he must take an oath to uphold the traditions and oaths established by the first tai pan and founder of the Noble House, Dirk Struan, one of the first and certainly the mightiest of the China Traders from the early 19th century. At this meeting Dunross discovers that a ship containing a disproportionate amount of the Noble House's uninsured wealth has gone down imperiling the House's future.

The book then jumps forward three years, to August of 1963, and the Noble House's financial predicament has grown, if anything, worse. Linc Bartlett, an American billionaire, and his ambitious and stunningly beautiful protégé, K. C. Tcholok arrive in Hong Kong aboard his private Boeing 707 (remember this is 1963). They are in Hong Kong to establish a presence in the lucrative Oriental markets and to make a deal with the Noble House or one of its competitors.

Hidden in the wheel-well of the jet are rifles, ammunition, and grenades which are strictly prohibited in Hong Kong. Their origin as well as their purpose is revealed to us gradually as we come to know the protagonist and current tai-pan, Ian Dunross and the multitude of complex problems that he must contend with.

We discover early on that there is a Judas Iscariot in the Noble House, the comprador Phillip Chen's son, John Chen, who is inexplicably kidnapped.... Bartlett is playing the Noble House against it's arch-enemy and biggest competitor, Rothwell-Gornt run by Quillan Gornt, a descendant of Tyler Brock who is the arch-enemy of the first tai-pan, Dirk Struan. Gornt is using his former mistress, Orlanda Ramos, to spy on Bartlett and to manipulate him into a favorable disposition toward his company.

Ian Dunross has a highly secret source of intelligence named Alan Medford Grant from a London Strategic Planning Institute and one of his reports to the tai-pan is intercepted by Roger Crosse of Hong Kong Special Intelligence. Shortly afterwards Grant turns up dead in England as a result of foul play. The information in Grant's reports are yet another important element in the complex tale crafted by Clavell. We learn from the report that the Noble House has a Russian mole within and that there is a mole high up in the Hong Kong government.

Nearly every rivalry and association has its roots in the past dating back to at least the original China traders of the early 19th century. Clavell does a marvelous job of integrating the past and the present drawing on his knowledge not only of China and the Orient, but of high finance with repeated references to Sun Tzu's "Art of War."

Even some of the characters from Clavell's marvelous "King Rat" make an appearance. The King himself does not appear and is only alluded to, but Robin Grey, as a labor MP and Socialist sympathizer, and Peter Marlowe, a writer and thinly disguised James Clavell himself do appear.

Clavell is an astute observer of human nature enabling him to craft an amazingly complex and engaging tale tying together a multitude of disparate elements in a believable manner that is too often overlooked in todays half-baked novels. This book is long at over 1300 pages but well worth the effort. I would recommend reading Clavell's "Tai Pan" first, if possible, but this is not mandatory.

I first read this book on a vacation to Harbor Island in 1981 and was so utterly absorbed by the book that I ignored many of my social responsibilities.

I've just completed reading the book again at age 54 and have actually enjoyed it MORE than the first time I read it. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Read more ›

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Clavell takes to Hong Kong September 9, 2004

By therosen VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Clavell was perhaps the greatest Western writer of Asian historical fiction. In this epic novel he captures the spirit of the Western trading companies as they maneuver in British Hong Kong. We find out what has happened to the house and lineage first created in Taipan, and how the trials and tribulations have been passed from generation to generation.

This book captures many of the strengths of the entire series:

- Characters are portrayed as complex individuals, not just one dimensional drones

- There's tons of history and cultural lessons hidden between the story lines

- Character lines are carried cross-book in the series

Definitely a solid (if not short) read!

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars high suspense level, up there with _Sho-gun_ December 27, 1999

By J. K. Kelley

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This book makes a leap of one century from Clavell's _Gai-jin_, and presents an interesting look at the culture and economy of Hong Kong. I cannot say how accurate it is except in one respect: passion for gambling. Having worked for years with natives of Hong Kong I believe Clavell has captured this aspect well.

What Clavell does best with _Noble House_ is to maintain a high suspense level. Every character in the book could die; one must wait a long time to find out how it's going to turn out. Most of the characters are interesting enough. Just the shenanigans involved with the Hong Kong economy would make this a worthwhile read.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars James Clavell's Greatest Work August 6, 1999

By Matthew Teng

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Noble House is undoubtedly Clavell's greatest work. Although Tai-pan, Shogun and King Rat are excellent books in their own right, Noble House keeps the reader enthralled to the last page. Tai-pan makes good reading in itself and serves as a prequel to Noble House. However, it is not necessary to read Tai-pan before Noble House. I did not but I still found this work exciting. The plots - CIA versus KGB versus PRC Intelligence versus MI-5/MI-6, Gornt versus Dunross versus Bartlett, Orlanda versus Casey and a variety of characters (other than those already mentioned), makes the 1400 plus pages light work - it is truly a classic by an author with deep insights in the culture and international relations of Hong Kong and its neighbours and trading partners. The boardroom drama is intense and Clavell leaves the reader guessing who will emerge winner until the end. I recommend this book to anyone.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Huge, engrossing novel!!! September 17, 2003

By RMurray847 VINE™ VOICE

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This book doesn't have the historical sweep, grandeur and other-worldly feel of SHOGUN, but it is even more densely packed with political and personal machinations, intrigue, "pillowing," colorful characters and tension than any of Clavell's other books. I began it with feelings of apprehension, thinking "Oh, no, 1400 pages of Hong Kong corporate intrigue...how good can THAT be?"

Well, it's pretty darn good!!! Yes, there's corporate intrigue, but it's actually kept to a minimum. There are murder mysteries, kidnappings, disasters, sexual intrigue, huge sums of money being thrown around, and lots of detailed glimpses into the psyche of the Chinese, Europeans and just the unique world of Hong Kong in general.

If I could have, the book would get 4.5 stars. I have just a couple of problems with it. 1) As in TAI PAN and GAI JIN, the end of the book features a major natural disaster which has the effect of sorting out some of the problems the main characters are having...it feels like a deux ex machina from a Greek tragedy, especially now that Clavell has done it three times! 2) The ending feels a bit rushed. We've invested 1300+ pages into the book and its interesting characters...a richer ending would be in order. (Although for rushed, unsatisfying endings, you can't beat GAI JIN!)

That being said, the book is richly rewarding, and frankly, quite amazing. Clavell has successfully juggled perhaps dozens of storylines and scores of characters. The outline for the book alone must have been hundreds of pages. And all of it takes place in the course of one week!

Please, if you haven't read other Clavell books, read them in order!!! They are all great, but to be truly appreciated, they BEG to be read in order: SHOGUN, TAI PAN, GAI JIN, KING RAT, NOBLE HOUSE and WHIRLWIND.... All are very rewarding, exciting reads. Read more ›