The Concubine's Daughter - by Pai Kit Fai (Paperback)

About the Book

In the bestselling tradition of "Memoirs of a Geisha" comes a riveting saga of early 20th-century China, where a mother and daughter fight to realize their destinies in a world where woman can still be bought and sold.

Book Synopsis

An epic, heart-wrenching story of a mother and daughter's journey to their destiny.

Lotus Feet. He would give his daughter the dainty feet of a courtesan. This would enhance her beauty and her price, making her future shine like a new coin. He smiled to himself, pouring fresh tea. And it would stop her from running away...

When the young concubine of an old farmer in rural China gives birth to a daughter called Li-Xia, or "Beautiful One," the child seems destined to become a concubine herself. Li refuses to submit to her fate, outwitting her father's orders to bind her feet and escaping the silk farm with an English sea captain. Li takes her first steps toward fulfilling her mother's dreams of becoming a scholar--but her final triumph must be left to her daughter, Su Sing, "Little Star," in a journey that will take her from remote mountain refuges to the perils of Hong Kong on the eve of World War II.

Review Quotes

"The wealth of detail about Chinese history and culture gives this book an edge over other stories that tell a similar tale." - Historical Novel Society

About the Author

Drawing on years of immersion in traditional Chinese culture, medicine, and martial arts, PAI KIT FAI, who worked as a merchant marine, a writer, and a creative director for an advertising agency before marrying into one of Hong Kong's founding Eurasian families, delivers a mesmerizing tale of passion and courage in this, his first novel.