Margaret Mehl is an expert on the history of modern Japan and a dedicated amateur violinist. Currently she is an Associate Professor at the University of Copenhagen. She holds a doctorate from the University of Bonn as well as one from the University of Copenhagen.After a postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge, Margaret Mehl lectured at the universities of Edinburgh, Stirling and Berlin before moving to Copenhagen in 2001. She has lived in Japan as a researcher on several occasions, affiliated with the University of Tokyo and, more recently, with Waseda University.Margaret Mehl has published widely on the history of historical writing, education and music in modern Japan. Her previous books include "History and the State in Nineteenth-Century Japan" (Macmillan, 1998) and "Private Academies of Chinese Learning in Meiji Japan: The Decline and Transformation of the Kangaku Juku" (NIAS Press, 2003). She has also published articles relating to the violin in Japan in "The Strad."When she is not reading, writing or teaching, Margaret Mehl enjoys playing her violin and has performed in amateur orchestras and chamber ensembles in several countries. While living in Edinburgh she also tried her hand at Scottish fiddle music. Margaret Mehl’s latest books, NOT BY LOVE ALONE and HISTORY AND THE STATE IN NINETEENTH-CENTURY JAPAN (SECOND EDITION), are now available from Amazon. MUSIC AND THE MAKING OF MODERN JAPAN: JOINING THE GLOBAL CONCERT can be read and downloaded from the publisher's website. Kindle, hardback and paperback versions are available on Amazon. Praise for "History and the State in Nineteenth-Century Japan":Dr Mehl manages to attain the right balance between treating the essential historiographical questions and enticing us with interesting details.Naoko Shimazu in "Japan Forum"Praise for "Private Academies of Chinese Learning in Meiji Japan":That Mehl even attempts to connect her research on Meiji-era juku to a larger discussion of Japan’s modern cultural history is a testament to her broadmindedness and a methodological flexibility, and makes what is already a valuable contribution to the history of Japanese education all the more worthy of our attention.Brian W. Platt in "Monumenta Nipponica"Read more about this authorRead less about this author