Mandarin Road

Ann Bennett is the author of a number of historical wartime novels, including The World War Two Orphanage series, Echoes of Empire and the Oriental Lake series. Her standalone novel The Orphan House was a bestseller. Her Bamboo Trilogy is set in WWII Malaya and was inspired by her father's experience as a prisoner of the Japanese on the Thai-Burma railway. She is fascinated by India and South-East Asia and has travelled many times in the region since her early 20s. Her 2026 novel, Mandarin Road, hit #1 on the Amazon UK Kindle Historical Asian Fiction bestseller charts. chart Bennett holds a degree in law and works full-time as a lawyer while writing part-time. She is married with three sons and lives in Surrey, UK.

Jacqui is a stage, screen and voice actor with a background in drag and immersive cabaret. She is mixed race (German and Chinese-Malay heritage) with working proficiency in German, Japanese and French. Confident and versatile in accents across Asia, Europe and America and across age and gender. Her native RP / Estuary voice is mature, intelligent and authoritative, with a subtle trace of wry detachment.