Local Author Writes Sequel to the Suzie Wong Story

KPBS | By KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published July 1, 2008 at 6:34 AM PDT

This story was published more than 15 years ago.

The novel "The World of Suzie Wong" was written by Richard Mason in 1957. It became a hit movie in 1960 starring William Holden, and Nancy Kwan as Suzie Wong. Now, former SDSU professor and world tr

Tom Fudge : If you were going to the movies 48 years ago, you might have spent an afternoon tucked in a dark theater watching "The World of Suzie Wong." It starred William Holden and Nancy Kwan. And one of the people who remembers it is James Clapp, now a former professor of urban studies at San Diego State.

He was a young guy in 1960 and he developed a crush on the actress Nancy Kwan. In fact, he never forgot her. And during a recent trip to Hong Kong, he saw a young woman who looked just like Nancy Kwan in that movie... from the back at least. That inspired him to write a novel about the continuing life of the character that Kwan played.

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Guest :

James Clapp , author of "For Goodness Sake: A Novel of the Afterlife of Suzie Wong" under the pseudonym Sebastian Gerard. Clapp is also a former professor of urban studies at San Diego State University.