The classic story of a woman in post-World War II China. "[A] complex and penetrating portrayal . . . that best displays [Anyi's] gifts as a novelist."— The New York TimesInfatuated with the glitz and glamour of 1940s Hollywood, Wang Qiyao—a girl born of the longtang, the crowded, labyrinthine alleys of Shanghai's working-class neighborhoods—seeks fame in the Miss Shanghai beauty pageant. This fleeting moment of...

Nainai has lived in Shanghai for many years, and the time has come to find a wife for her adopted grandson. But when the bride she has chosen arrives from the countryside, it soon becomes clear that the orphaned girl has ideas of her own. Her name is Fu Ping, and the more she explores the residential lanes and courtyards behind Shanghai’s busy shopping streets, the less she wants to return to the country as a dutiful wife. As Fu Ping wavers over her future, she learns the city through the ...

Nainai has lived in Shanghai for many years, and the time has come to find a wife for her adopted grandson. But when the bride she has chosen arrives from the countryside, it soon becomes clear that the orphaned girl has ideas of her own. Her name is Fu Ping, and the more she explores the residential lanes and courtyards behind Shanghai’s busy shopping streets, the less she wants to return to the country as a dutiful wife. As Fu Ping wavers over her future, she learns the city through the ...

I Love Bill and Other Stories showcases the work of Wang Anyi, one of China's most prolific and highly regarded writers, in two novellas and three short stories.A young artist's life spirals out of control when she drops out of school to pursue a series of unfulfilling relationships with foreign men. A performance troupe struggles to adapt to a changing China at the end of the Cultural Revolution. The head of an isolated village arranges a...

The first English-language anthology of its kind, Red Is Not the Only Color offers a window into the uncharted terrain of intimate relations between Chinese women. As urban China has undergone rapid transformation, same-sex relations have emerged as a significant, if previously neglected, touchstone for the exploration of the meaning of social change. The short fiction in this volume highlights tensions between tradition and modernization, family and state, art and commerce, love ...

As the end of the world arrives in downtown Shanghai, one man’s only wish is to return a library book...When a publisher agrees to let a star author use his company’s attic to write in, little does he suspect this will become the author’s permanent residence...As Shanghai succumbs to a seemingly apocalyptic deluge, a man takes refuge in his bathtub, only to find himself, moments later, floating through the city's streets...The characters in this literary exploration...

Rediscover the A Puffin Book series and bring the best-loved classics to a new generation - including this 25th anniversary edition of Chinese Cinderella, complete with a special introduction by Julia Eccleshare.Born into the world with her story already written and woven with bad luck, Adeline turns her attention to school, where she discovers that she is a talented writer, much to Father's disapproval.'Writer! You are going to starve!'But...

THE 12 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LEWIS TRILOGY AND THE ENZO FILESAWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF THE CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY 2021**'Peter May is one of the most accomplished novelists writing today.' Undiscovered Scotland'No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.' New York Journal of BooksLI YAN AND MARGARET CAMPBELL RETURN IN A NEW S...

From the author of Three Souls comes a vividly imagined and haunting new novel set in early 20th century Shanghai-a story of friendship, heartbreak, and history that follows a young Eurasian orphans search for her long-lost mother.That night I dreamed that I had wandered out to Dragon Springs Road all on my own, when a dreadful knowledge seized me that my mother had gone away never to return . . .In 1908, Jialing is only seven years old when she is abando...

Now a BBC Radio 4 Drama Series.When Chief Inspector Chen Cao is offered a week's break at a luxurious resort near Lake Tai, he accepts immediately. Increasingly worn out by the politics of his job, the opportunity to relax and recover sounds like heaven.But the beautiful lake he remembers is much changed: covered by algae, its waters have been polluted by waste from local manufacturing plants. Even the local food is dangerous to eat. Is this the cost of prog...

“Duncan Jepson magically inhabits the life of a young Chinese woman in 1930s Shanghai….I thoroughly enjoyed this book.”—Janice Y. K. Lee, New York Times bestselling author of The Piano Teacher“Breathtaking….A great work that will move its readers.”—Hong Ying, international bestselling author of Daughter of the RiverReaders previously enchanted by Memoirs of a Geisha, Empress, and the novels of Lisa See will be capti...

A magistrate investigates the death of a nobleman in this historical mystery set in China's Tang Dynasty era.Judge Dee has been appointed emergency governor of the plague and drought ridden Imperial City. As his guards help the city fend off a popular uprising, an aristocrat from one of the oldest families in China suffers an "accident" in a deserted mansion.In The Willow Pattern, the illustrious judge uses his trademark expertise to unravel the my...