Peggy Pemberton-Carter was one of many Europeans living in Shanghai immediately prior to World War II. Until the Japanese invasion Europeans and Americans lived comfortable, almost idyllic lives, protected from the social upheavals of a changing China by their extra-territorial rights. When the Japanese took control of Shanghai in 1941, all foreigners lost these rights and became Enemy Subjects. Freedom of movement was curtailed, some foreigners were arrested, money was devalued and homes and possessions were confiscated. In 1943 all foreigners were interned in camps where they remained until the end of the war. A Curious Cage records Peggy Pemberton-Carter s life in Shanghai from the Japanese invasion until the war s end. Written in defiance of Japanese orders, the journal portrays a bleak world brightened only by the author s unfailing belief in humanity. Originally released in 1981, this new edition of A Curious Cage has been updated with information about Peggy s life after internment and specifically about her world famous garden, Abkhazi Garden. After the war Peggy Pemberton-Carter came to British Columbia and bought property in Victoria, her chosen refuge and sanctuary, where she married Prince Nicholas Abkhazi an exiled Georgian Prince. They began a new adventure together-building a home and creating the extraordinary garden that she referred to as their child. Over the years starting with the first public garden tour in 1949, thousands of visitors had the opportunity to view and be inspired by the Abkhazis efforts. After Princess Abkhazi s death in 1994, the garden was purchased by The Land Conservancy of British Columbia to save it from destruction by developers.
