Mr. Sam Merry

Sam Merry, 68, is a retired teacher in Portsmouth with his Chinese wife. In retirement, he has written and reviewed books.

He has a degree in History, a Masters in Educational Administration and a PhD in Philosophy. He has been a teacher/lecturer all his life in English schools and around the world in Cairo, Singapore, the Czech Republic, France, Germany and China (Beijing, Qingdao, Dongguan).

His first novel, "Blue Cheese and Chao Mian", was a comedy on the experience of introducing his Canton wife to the puzzling eccentricities of an English naval town. His second, "A Faraway Country", was set in Prague in the 1990’s, where he was Academic Director of a Language School. His third "Eighties Blues", is a comic look at Thatcher’s England from a woman’s point of view.

He has written two travelogues, "Travellers in an Antique Land", 1975-6 a journey across Europe to teach in Cairo; and" China Against the Tides, 2014". "China Love" and "Real China Love" are semi-autobiographical novels set in China. His essays on China, 2002-08, The " Dragon Chasing the Sun", are based on his experiences of Beijing and Guangdong. "What has Christianity Ever Done for Me?" is Sam's religious memoire, and "The Construction of 20th Century History", is based on his experienced of teaching History. He has just written his autobiography, "Futures Past".