"Hundred Altars" is a village in Northern Chinn, whose inhabitants are presented so convincingly that one recognises first-hand knowledge of the country. The main theme is the Chinaman's hunger for sons. Chinese beliefs and customs are dealt with in detail here, yet all as part of a novel full of interplay of character. In this impressive novel Juliet Bredon penetrates to the soul of that vast country, revealing its people, its customs, its struggles as they have seldom, if ever, been revealed before. The soul of a nation lies in the hearts of its peasantry, and it is of the peasantry that this novel unforgettably deals. We see them here in their strange humility, with those traits of character so curious to our eyes. Juliet Bredon has, for many years, lived in China, and it is evident that she knows China and understands her deeply and with sympathy.