Is "The Last Days of Pekin" free to read and listen to?

Yes. "The Last Days of Pekin" is a public domain work from Project Gutenberg. CastReader converts it to audio using AI text-to-speech — completely free, no account or payment needed.

Who wrote "The Last Days of Pekin"?

"The Last Days of Pekin" was written by Pierre Loti. It is classified as History.

How long does it take to listen to "The Last Days of Pekin"?

"The Last Days of Pekin" has 349 chapters. Estimated listening time is approximately 4188 minutes with CastReader's AI narration.

Can I listen to "The Last Days of Pekin" on my phone?

Yes. Open the book in CastReader's browser reader, then use "Send to Phone" to stream audio to your phone via Telegram. No app download needed.

What voice is used for the "The Last Days of Pekin" audiobook?

CastReader uses Kokoro TTS, a natural-sounding AI voice. It handles punctuation, names, and dialogue naturally. Most listeners forget it's AI after a few minutes.

Is there a human-narrated audiobook of "The Last Days of Pekin"?

"The Last Days of Pekin" is in the public domain, so human-narrated versions may exist on LibriVox or Audible. CastReader's AI narration is instant and free — no waiting or subscription required.

THE LAST DAYS OF PEKIN

The Last Days of Pekin

Name: The Last Days of Pekin
Rating: 1.5 (41 reviews)
Author: Pierre Loti

Translated from the French of Pierre Loti

By MYRTA L. JONES

Illustrated from Photographs, and Drawings by Jessie B. Jones

Boston Little, Brown, and Company 1902

Published November, 1902

UNIVERSITY PRESS · JOHN WILSON AND SON · CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A.

DEDICATION

TO VICE-ADMIRAL POTTIER Commander-in-Chief of the Squadron of the Far East

Admiral:—

The notes which I sent to the "Figaro" from China are to be collected in a volume which will be published in Paris before my return, so that it will be impossible for me to look it over. I am therefore a little uneasy as to how such a collection may turn out; it will doubtless contain much repetition. Yet I beg that you will accept this dedication as a token of the profound and affectionate respect of your first aide-de-camp. You will be more indulgent than any one else, because you know under what conditions it was written,—from day to day during a painful campaign in the midst of the continual excitement of life aboard ship.

I have restricted myself to noting the things which have come under my own observation while undertaking the missions to which you assigned me, and in the course of the journey which you allowed me to take into a certain part of China hitherto almost unknown.

When we reached the Yellow Sea, Pekin had been taken, and the war was over. I could, therefore, only observe our soldiers during the period of peaceful occupation. Under these circumstances I have seen them always kind and almost fraternal in manner toward the humblest of the Chinese. May my book contribute its small part toward destroying the shameful stories published against them!

Perhaps you may reproach me, Admiral, for saying almost nothing of the sailors who remained on our ships, who were constantly toiling with never a murmur or a loss of courage during our long and dangerous sojourn in the waters of Petchili. Poor sequestered beings living between steel walls! They did not have, to sustain them, as their superiors had, any of the responsibilities which make up the interest of life, or the stimulus that comes from having to decide serious questions. They knew nothing, they saw nothing, not even the sinister coast in the distance. In spite of the heat of a Chinese summer, fires were burning day and night in their stifling quarters; they lived bathed in a moist heat, dripping with perspiration, coming out only for exhausting drill-work in small boats, in bad weather, and often in the dead of night and on boisterous seas.

One needs but a glance at their thin pale faces now, to understand how difficult their obscure rôle has been.

But if I had told of the monotony of their hardships, and of their silent unending devotion, no one would have had the patience to read me.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE

The account of his experiences in China, published by Pierre Loti under the title of "Les Derniers Jours de Pékin," first appeared in the form of letters written to the "Figaro" from China, from notes taken on the spot during those memorable days when he was serving on board one of the French warships.

Loti has written little of late, having had no end of trouble with his naval superiors, through jealousy, it is said, of his literary success.

As Julian Viaud, Loti ranks in the navy as "Lieutenant de vaisseau." Some time ago he was abruptly retired. He took his case before the "Conseil d'état," which finally gave a verdict in his favor, and he secured the nomination of officier d'ordonnance at the time of the Chinese difficulties, during which he resumed his literary work neglected in a measure on account of the tribulations connected with his naval career.

His account of his experiences in China is very personal and very national, yet, exotic that it is, it presents such a vivid picture of certain phases of China that it is of value as the contribution of an observer possessing sympathy, imagination, and knowledge, as well as the literary sense, to the history of our own times.

ILLUSTRATIONS

I THE ARRIVAL IN THE YELLOW SEA

Very early morning, on a calm sea and under a starry sky. A light on the eastern horizon shows that day is about to break, yet it is still night. The air is soft and moist.—Is it the summer of the North, or the winter of a warm climate? Nothing in sight on any side, no land, no light, no sail, no indication of any place—just a marine solitude in ideal weather and in the mystery of the wavering dawn.

Like a leviathan which conceals itself in order to surprise, the big iron-clad advances silently with determined slowness, its engines barely revolving.