Shanghai 1935: An American Lady's Account of the City and Its High-Society, Paperback

American socialite Ruth Day visited Shanghai for several weeks in 1935 and left one of the most sparkling descriptions of the city in this book, published in a limited edition the following year and only brought to the wider world in this new edition published more than 80 years later. Ruth was the step-daughter of a prominent American financial expert who held a senior post in the Chinese government, and during her whirlwind trip, she met with absolutely everyone who was anyone, and went everywhere the high-society crowd frequented: dancehalls and night-clubs, parties and the best private homes. She describes it all with a rare flair, leaving us with a valuable and unique record of Shanghai high society and the panorama of human experience in the city during its decadent heyday. This is truly a lost classic brought back to life.

Ruth Day (1892-1964) was born in Boston as Ruth Van Buren Hugo, and in 1915 married Morgan Glover Day, a member of a prominent family from Springfield Massachusetts. They settled in Springfield where they raised two sons. In 1935, she traveled to Shanghai to visit her mother Jane, who was then married to Dr. Frederick A. Cleveland (1865-1946), who was then in China to assist the National Government with its financial administration. After returning to the United States, she wrote a book describing her experiences and observations of life in Shanghai in great detail, leaving us with a valuable and unique record of high society, cultural and social life during the city's decadent heyday.