E. Backhouse Books

Sir Edmund Backhouse was a British oriental scholar and linguist whose work significantly shaped Western perceptions of the late Qing Dynasty. However, posthumous revelations indicated that some of his sources were forged, leaving the extent and origin of these fabrications uncertain. While one biographer famously labeled him a 'confidence man,' subsequent scholarship suggests his often confabulated accounts may also contain plausible recollections of historical scenes and details, potentially colored by personal biases.