Narrative of the Earl of Elgin's Mission to China and Japan, in the Years 1857, '58, '59

In 1857 Laurence Oliphant (1829-88), lawyer, journalist, diplomat and sometime spy, became private secretary to Lord Elgin, accompanying him on a diplomatic mission to Japan and China, aimed at extended British trading interests. His 1859 account provides a highly informative analysis of the negotiations from a privileged vantage point.