Thomas Lockley has a gift for fleshing out the lives of lesser known historical figures and providing a historical context to allow the reader to place them within the wider world. As huge fan of Lockley's African Samurai, I was very excited to read A Gentleman from Japan and the author's follow-up did not disappoint. The conditions under which Christopher and his fellow explorers live and work are unimaginable, This fast-paced book is a must read for fans of history and action/adventure.

I received an ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

A Gentleman from Japan by Thomas Lockley is a creative nonfiction exploring a young Japanese man named Christopher (Japanese name unknown) and his journey to England. When Christopher is sold to a naval captain and discovered to understand Chinese writing, he begins a journey across the world.

I had never heard of Christopher before reading this though I have background knowledge in Japanese history. The era Christopher grew up in, the Sengoku or Warring States Period, was known for quite a bit of political turmoil and war as the rest of the world was facing from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries. I was also unaware of Japanese people being sold into slavery outside of Japan. In many ways, this book shines a light on things that are not often discussed in conversations around the Sengoku period because the daimyou tend to be the stars.

What I think the book does really well is make strong connections between the various nations during Christopher’s journey. We get to see how Queen Elizabeth and Shakespeare had interest in the Far East, particularly China and Japan, and what the Portuguese and Spanish were doing around the Philippines and the Americas. There’s often a separation, a honing in, on a specific country or a specific continent in nonfiction because nonfiction does well when it’s specific. But the topic of Christopher’s life asea lets Thomas Lockley make those connections organically and thoughtfully. As some of the chapters are from Christopher’s POV, they are not entirely in-line with our morals today, but it never felt excessive.

I would recommend this to readers who are looking for a nonfiction about Japanese or world history, fans of the Sengoku period, and those who have a strong preference for nonfiction focusing on the sixteenth century.

“A Gentleman from Japan” is a non-fiction book following Christopher ( Japanese name unknown) born in Japan during the War Era as well as the explorer Thomas Cavendish and his escapades and how Christopher’s life changed after their encounter— the book follows Christopher as his identity continues to be reinvented as a naturalist, a scientist, and a spy. This book has two main themes in history that are being explored - The Age of Exploration and Christopher’s life. This book is well researched but for me a bit heavy with facts and information, it was overall an interesting read and would be of a huge interest to those deeply interested in Japanese history, Japans interactions with foreigners in the past as well as exploring the horrors of colonisation and piracy. The writing was well paced , and kept me invested in history of the time.

Thank-you to Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing for this ARC . This is my honest review.

Thomas Lockley’s, “A Gentleman from Japan” was a well researched historical non-fiction read. This book descriptively narrates life as a privateering pirate in the Age of Exploration. The book also follows the plundering adventures of Englishman, Thomas Cavendish and the long-forgotten Japanese gentleman Christopher. This story shares a vast plethora of historical facts and details that will definitely satisfy anyone looking for a fantastic historical read or a realistic perspective of a privateer during this era.
Thank you Harlequin Trade Publishing and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

In 1586, Elizabethan privateer Thomas Cavendish captured the Spanish galleon "Santa Anna" off the coast of California. It's a vicious fight, and among the 190 captives are Christopher and Cosmus, two Japanese men. Christopher had been a member of a small pirate band in Japan. They had been attacked by Portuguese-led Filipino warships and he was subsequently sold into slavery. Cosmus was an orphan at a Jesuit mission when it was brutally raided by slavers. To Cavendish's surprise, Christopher is literate and both captives are familiar with Chinese maps. Hoping to raise his own societal status, Cavendish brings them both back to England, fêting them as noble "gentlemen." It's an international first, but Christopher's insight proves more impactful on English/Japanese relations and navigational history than anyone could've imagined.

Combining pirate, maritime and Japanese history, Lockley successfully builds a timeline for Christopher based on the scant records available. It's a perspective rarely discussed. At first, Lockley utilizes some dramatic, creative license to describe Christopher's encounter with Cavendish. It's historically accurate, but tonally it was unexpected. Thankfully, Lockley blends this style seamlessly throughout the rest of the narrative. I only wish that Lockley included more of Cosmus. He was always seemingly in Christopher's shadow. We also get too little of Christopher's Japan before he was captured. There were missed opportunities to discuss the specifics of 16th century Japan, in favor of general European exploration. I'm thankful for at least the epilogue in that regard. Still, I ended with four pages of notes and 348 pages really flew by! I definitely have to check out Lockley's biography of Yasuke soon!

Thank you Harlequin Trade and Hanover Square Press for approving "A Gentleman from Japan" by Thomas Lockley on Netgalley!

“A Gentleman from Japan” is a non-fiction book by Thomas Lockley. For me, this was basically two histories - one about the Age of Exploration and the other about a group of Japanese men who met Queen Elizabeth. This book is well researched and, while at times a bit dense with facts and information, it was an interesting read. There is a rather large source material section at the end. If you wish to know more about the British Age of Exploration and curious about Japan (and the world!) during this time, this may be a book to pick up.