Much ink has been spilled on the firm Jardine Matheson, but few scholars have rendered such a vivid portrayal of its founders as Richard J. Grace in Opium and Empire. Instead of exploring Jardine Matheson's company history (as did the notable work of Robert Blake's Jardine Matheson: Traders of the Far East [1999] and Carol Matheson Connell's analysis of the firm's strategic organization in A Business in Risk [2004]), Opium and Empire offers the history of the early years of the firm largely as a biographical account of William Jardine and James Matheson. Shifting away from the focus of previous works, which have situated the history of Jardine Matheson in the economic development of China since the nineteenth century (Edward Le Fevour's Western Enterprise in Late Ch'ing China [1968], Maggie Keswick's edited volume The Thistle and the Jade [1982], Alain Le Pichon's Aux origines de Hong Kong [1998], Ishii Kanji's Kindai Chūgoku to Igirisu shihon [1998], and Liu Shiping's Yanghang zhi wang: Yihe [2010]), Grace orients the narrative towards the British Empire as he approaches the stories of Jardine and Matheson as test cases of P. J. Cain and A. G. Hopkins's thesis of “gentlemanly capitalism.” Building on previous scholarship (especially Michael Greenberg's British Trade and the Opening of China [1951]), Grace mines the company's archives and offers “a study of empire writ small,” a “history on a human scale” through which the reader could evaluate the impact of Jardine and Matheson on their times (pp. vii–ix).

As he writes the first academic monograph on the topic that takes a biographical perspective, Grace produces a lively depiction of Jardine and Matheson's adventures. Readers learn of Jardine's voyaging with Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy on board the Brunswick in 1799, a chance encounter that would blossom into a significant partnership in the decades to come. We see how the two founders assumed control of a trading house and attempted to sell various commodities to China until opium took hold among consumers in the Qing dynasty. Not only does Grace explain the trading mechanism at the port of Canton for the young British traders but he also offers details of how Jardine and Matheson furthered their interests during critical moments such as the abolition of the East India Company's monopoly, the arrival of Lord Napier, and the military showdown in Canton. No reader would forget Grace's colorful rendering of Jardine's farewell party in 1839, which makes Canton a ready contender for the liveliest expat community in any era.

In his detailed depiction of Jardine's and Matheson's experiences, Grace also provides pertinent information on the wider historical context. For instance, we learn that British politicians were preoccupied with the situations in the Middle East and Central Asia as they handled the 1839 crisis in China. On the earlier period, Grace alludes to European geopolitical developments. One would appreciate more details on the impact of the continental European chaos on the choices of aspiring traders like Jardine and Matheson. Similarly, while Grace's narrative features some American traders, the reader would benefit from a more explicit analysis of the rise of the American presence in the Canton area and how these newcomers rivaled or partnered with country traders such as Jardine and Matheson.

Opium and Empire offers a much-needed analysis of Jardine and Matheson's adventures in the expanding British Empire. The company they founded was not just important to the development of Western capitalism in China but also critical to the growing footprint of the British Empire. Grace's biographical account of Jardine and Matheson lends itself readily to an assessment of Cain and Hopkins's theory of gentlemanly capitalism. In many places, Grace presents us with details of the interactions between the two founders and British politicians. The analysis would be all the more powerful with a deeper explanation of the connections Jardine and Matheson had with the political powers in London, both during their stay in Canton and upon their return to Britain. Their participation in British politics once they resettled back home could also inspire a detailed social network analysis, especially in relation to the growth of their firm in the later period. Grace notes the founders’ lack of academic pedigree as a deviation from the Cain and Hopkins's framework. In light of the sustained growth of the firm halfway around the globe from the metropole, one could explore the framework further to see if the impetus for the expanding empire actually lay not in the city of London but in the outposts of the empire.

Grace should be congratulated on his detailed presentation of the fascinating story that entailed his painstaking investigations at many archival repositories. For yet another perspective, future researchers may want to consult the Jamsetjee Jejeebhoy Papers, housed in the library of the University of Mumbai. Opium and Empire presents an engaging story in highly readable prose. My only suggestion would be to standardize the Romanization of Chinese characters to avoid confusion. Such minor suggestions notwithstanding, Opium and Empire presents a fresh look at the origins of one of the longest-standing Western firms in Asia and should be on the reading list of the general public as well as students of transnational encounters of the nineteenth century.