Overkill or added value?

Abigail Howell, Penguin China's publicity manager, concedes the campaign to promote Midnight in Peking is "certainly ambitious".

"In researching the book, Paul uncovered a wealth of materials. It seemed a shame not to find a way to share them," she says.

The book, launched this month in China and Australia, has spawned a set of ancillaries that could be enjoyed independent of the conventional turning of pages.