Download or read book The Modern Classics The Concubine s Children written by Denise Chong and published by Penguin Canada. This book was released on 2014-08-19 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Concubine’s Children is the story of a family cleaved in two for the sake of a father’s dream. There’s Chan Sam, who left an "at home" wife in China to earn a living in "Gold Mountain"—North America. There’s May-ying, the wilful, seventeen-year-old concubine he bought, sight unseen, who labored in tea houses of west coast Chinatowns to support the family he would have in Canada, and the one he had in China. It was the concubine’s third daughter, the author’s mother, who unlocked the past for her daughter, whose curiosity about some old photographs ultimately reunited a family divided for most of the last century.
Download or read book The Concubine s Child written by Carol Jones and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2018-04-01 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An evocative, multi-generational tale of a family haunted by the death of a young concubine. For fans of Dinah Jefferies and Amy Tan. In 1930s Malaya a sixteen-year-old girl, dreaming of marriage to her sweetheart, is sold as a concubine to a rich old man desperate for an heir. Trapped, and bullied by his spiteful wife, Yu Lan plans to escape with her baby son, despite knowing that they will pursue her to the ends of the earth. Four generations later, her great-grandson, Nick, will return to Malaysia, looking for the truth behind the facade of a house cursed by the unhappy past. Nothing can prepare him for what he will find. This exquisitely rich novel brings to life a vanished world – a world of abandoned ghost houses, inquisitive monkeys, smoky temples and a panoply of gods and demons. A world where a poor girl can be sold to fulfil a rich man's dream. But though he can buy her body, he can never capture her soul, nor quench her spirit. WHAT READERS ARE SAYING: 'Compelling, atmospheric and emotional' 'Well-written, compelling... A tale of duty, treachery, misery and superstition' 'Wonderfully drawn characters, searing emotion, powerful intensity and nail-biting drama'.
Download or read book The Concubine written by Elechi Amadi and published by Waveland Press. This book was released on 2017-04-26 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Amadi’s masterpiece of African literature captures village life and practices not yet touched by the white man. The novel’s beautiful, hardworking protagonist, Ihouma, is admired by all in her village. Yet those who express their love for her meet with mysterious tragedy, leaving her devastated. This enticing odyssey, where exemplary attributes go unrewarded and the boundaries between myth and reality are muted, outwits readers with unexpected twists that make them want to keep turning the page.
Download or read book The Concubine the Princess and the Teacher written by Douglas Scott Brookes and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the Western imagination, the Middle Eastern harem was a place of sex, debauchery, slavery, miscegenation, power, riches, and sheer abandon. But for the women and children who actually inhabited this realm of the imperial palace, the reality was vastly different. In this collection of translated memoirs, three women who lived in the Ottoman imperial harem in Istanbul between 1876 and 1924 offer a fascinating glimpse "behind the veil" into the lives of Muslim palace women of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The memoirists are Filizten, concubine to Sultan Murad V; Princess Ayse, daughter of Sultan Abdulhamid II; and Safiye, a schoolteacher who instructed the grandchildren and harem ladies of Sultan Mehmed V. Their recollections of the Ottoman harem reveal the rigid protocol and hierarchy that governed the lives of the imperial family and concubines, as well as the hundreds of slave women and black eunuchs in service to them. The memoirists show that, far from being a place of debauchery, the harem was a family home in which polite and refined behavior prevailed. Douglas Brookes explains the social structure of the nineteenth-century Ottoman palace harem in his introduction. These three memoirs, written across a half century and by women of differing social classes, offer a fuller and richer portrait of the Ottoman imperial harem than has ever before been available in English.
Download or read book Women in the Ancient Near East written by Marten Stol and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2016-08-08 with total page 706 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Women in the Ancient Near East offers a lucid account of the daily life of women in Mesopotamia from the third millennium BCE until the beginning of the Hellenistic period. The book systematically presents the lives of women emerging from the available cuneiform material and discusses modern scholarly opinion. Stol’s book is the first full-scale treatment of the history of women in the Ancient Near East.
Download or read book The Concubine s Daughter written by Pai Kit Fai and published by St. Martin's Griffin. This book was released on 2009-09-29 with total page 500 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
Download or read book The King s Concubine written by Anne O'Brien and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-06-05 with total page 565 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A child born in the plague year of 1348, abandoned and raised within the oppressive walls of a convent, Alice Perrers refused to take the veil, convinced that a greater destiny awaited her. Ambitious and quick witted, she rose above her obscure beginnings to become the infamous mistress of Edward III. But always, essentially, she was alone... Early in Alice’s life, a chance meeting with royalty changes everything: Kindly Queen Philippa, deeply in love with her husband but gravely ill, chooses Alice as a lady-in-waiting. Under the queen’s watchful eye, Alice dares to speak her mind. She demands to be taken seriously. She even flirts with the dynamic, much older king. But she is torn when her vibrant spirit captures his interest...and leads her to a betrayal she never intended. In Edward’s private chambers, Alice discovers the pleasures and paradoxes of her position. She is the queen’s confidante and the king’s lover, yet she can rely only on herself. It is a divided role she was destined to play, and she vows to play it until the bitter end. Even as she is swept up in Edward’s lavish and magnificent court, amassing wealth and influence for herself, becoming an enemy of his power-hungry son John of Gaunt, and a sparring partner to resourceful diplomat William de Windsor, she anticipates the day when the political winds will turn against her. For when her detractors voice their hatred,and accusations of treason swirl around her,threatening to destroy everything she has achieved, who will stand by Alice then? Includes a readers guide
Download or read book Red Lotus written by Pai Kit Fai and published by Hachette UK. This book was released on 2010-03-22 with total page 496 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yip Mann, an elderly spice farmer, should have known better than to purchase a fifteen-year-old cherry-girl as his concubine, especially one beautiful enough to be seen as Ch'ien Gum - comparable to a thousand pieces of gold. But surely he deserves such a plaything to give him the last of his sons. To Yip Mann's dismay, the wilful concubine dies bearing him a worthless girl-child. After her death he must make use of the girl as best he can: by binding her feet in the forbidden practice of the Golden Lotus, he can sell her for a higher price. But the daughter he names Li-Xia - Beautiful One - has the fighting spirit of her rebellious mother, escaping the crippling bandages: she knows her feet will be her freedom. And when they lead her into the path of a mysterious 'foreign devil', Li-Xia takes the first steps on a new and perilous journey . . .
Download or read book The Concubine written by Jade Lee and published by Harlequin. This book was released on 2009-02-01 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Requirements for being a royal consort: 1) Exemplify purity. 2) Pass all demanding tests. 3) Gracefully withstand petty backstabbing. 4) Be chaste. Very chaste. Check to all! Chen Ji Yue is on her way to empress superstardom in nineteenth-century China. She only has to vanquish 300 rivals to bring her family great honor. Oh, and she may not find the deliciously sexy Sun Bo Tao—the emperor's best friend—at all delicious. Or sexy. Damn. Ji Yue is in big trouble. Because Bo Tao is definitely very sexy…. And Ji Yue is about to discover that chastity is overrated….
Download or read book The Concubine of Shanghai written by Hong Ying and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2013-12-05 with total page 400 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: China, 1907. Sixteen-year-old orphan Cassia is sold by her aunt to a brothel. There, she works as a lowly maid for Madame Emerald until a powerful and dangerous client plucks her from obscurity. Master Chang is the boss of the fearsome Shanghai Triad and he always gets what he wants. Despite her unbound feet and breasts, Cassia swiftly becomes Chang's favourite mistress. He showers her with luxuries as he embarks on her sexual awakening. But Chang's world is violent and precarious, and those such as Cassia who depend on him are bound to his fate . . .
Download or read book A Concubine For The Family written by Amy S. Kwei and published by Tatspublishing. This book was released on 2009-06-16 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Imagine a wife giving her husband a younger woman as a birthday present! A Concubine for the Family is a fictionalized account based on a true-life event: my Chinese grandmother's selfless gift to my grandfather to ensure a male heir for the family. It is also a story of feminine solidarity and heroism. Full of vivid descriptions, the book tells of dramatic events in an opium den, the traditions of raising silkworms as pets, acupuncture, medicines and techniques used in healing, foot binding, and behavior protocols between husbands and wives, masters and servants, children and parents, as well as the plight of a family fleeing war. It is also the heart-rending saga of a “book-fragrant” family and their harrowing experiences from 1937 until the fall of Hong Kong in 1941. Reviewing the book, the best-selling author Lisa See was moved to write: “You did a terrific job . . . I really enjoyed the story.” And the Kirkus Review wrote: “Purple Jade has broader concerns: There is the unsettling influence of American and European ‘West Ocean Devils,’ internal strife between the Nationalists and Communists, and an impending Japanese invasion . . . the author details Chinese traditions and the fascinating but evanescent world as only someone steeped in the old ways could. An adept stylist and storyteller, the author weaves with simplicity this tale of upper-class China in upheaval . . . An engaging family saga by a talented storyteller.” Using Tang poetry, colloquialisms, terms of endearment, and other vernacular, the books give the reader an immediate and deep understanding of Chinese culture and how it differs from our own. This compelling, heartfelt story of feminine and family solidarity is lovingly drawn. It will find emotional and intellectual resonance with most families in Diaspora.
Download or read book The Russian Concubine written by Kate Furnivall and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2007-06-27 with total page 532 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sweeping novel set in war-torn 1928 China, with a star-crossed love story at its center. In a city full of thieves and Communists, danger and death, spirited young Lydia Ivanova has lived a hard life. Always looking over her shoulder, the sixteen-year-old must steal to feed herself and her mother, Valentina, who numbered among the Russian elite until Bolsheviks murdered most of them, including her husband. As exiles, Lydia and Valentina have learned to survive in a foreign land. Often, Lydia steals away to meet with the handsome young freedom fighter Chang An Lo. But they face danger: Chiang Kai Shek's troops are headed toward Junchow to kill Reds like Chang, who has in his possession the jewels of a tsarina, meant as a gift for the despot's wife. The young pair's all-consuming love can only bring shame and peril upon them, from both sides. Those in power will do anything to quell it. But Lydia and Chang are powerless to end it.
Download or read book The Cobra the Concubine written by Bonnie Vanak and published by Leisure Books. This book was released on 2005 with total page 358 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abused and made a concubine by the evil Sheikh Faruq, Badra finds redemption and love in the strong arms of an English duke's last grandson. Original.
Download or read book The Concubine written by Norah Lofts and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2008-06-10 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Acclaimed and beloved historical novelist Norah Lofts brings to life the danger, romance, and intrigue of the Tudor court that forever altered the course of English history. The king first noticed Anne Boleyn as a heartbroken sixteen-year-old, sullen and beautiful after a thwarted romance with the son of the Earl of Northumberland. "All eyes and hair," a courtier had said disparagingly of her, but when King Henry VIII fell for young Anne, nothing could keep him from what he desired. Against common sense and the urgings of his most trusted advisors, Henry defied all, blindly following his passion for Anne, using the power he held over the bodies and souls of all who reside in his realm and beyond. Anne's ascent to the throne elevates her from lady-in-waiting to the highest position a woman could attain, but her life spirals out of control when Henry is driven to desperate acts of betrayal and violence. The consequences of Anne's rise to power and eventual demise are felt well beyond the inner circle of the court. Loyalties, to church, to queen, to country, are tested, and -- in the wake of the king's volatile passions -- can be an unpredictable matter of life and death. First published in 1963 and adored by readers for generations, Lofts' lush and moving portrayal of the ambitious and doomed Anne Boleyn will continue to reign as a classic retelling of this epic chapter of history vividly brought to life.
Download or read book Gods Concubine written by Sara Douglass and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 628 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From ancient Greece they came, remnants of the glorious Trojans. Led by Brutus, Kingman, holder of the bands of gold that wield the very magic of the Gods, these travelers are bowed but not broken, and they have come to Albion to begin anew. A vision of beauty called them to create a new Troy, and when they landed on the shores of the land that became Britain, they found an old magic that was fading. And so they began to construct a new Labyrinth, a place of magic that will bring unimaginable power to those who can control it. The temptress who brought Brutus to this land seeks to use him for her own purposes, but in that she fails, for it is the bride of Brutus who dooms the completion of the labyrinth . . . and sends all the players in this drama---handsome Brutus, his beautiful wife, Cornelia, and the sensuous and deadly Genvissa---into a hell of death and rebirth, until the Labyrinth is completed and the ancient magic is set free. A thousand years pass. Cathedrals rise in place of mud and wattle huts, hymns to saints replace odes to Celtic and Greek gods. But the magic from the dawn of time waits, and the players are not yet done with their destinies. They have new faces and new bodies, but old souls---and not all who have come back remember their parts in this drama. There are kings and princes, deadly court intrigues, and ancient powers awoken. And a warrior across the sea who only waits for his opportunity to finish what was started centuries before . . . At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Download or read book Marriage and Inequality in Chinese Society written by Rubie S. Watson and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 1991-04-02 with total page 408 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Until now our understanding of marriage in China has been based primarily on observations made during the twentieth century. The research of ten eminent scholars presented here provides a new vision of marriage in Chinese history, exploring the complex interplay between marriage and the social, political, economic, and gender inequalities that have so characterized Chinese society.
Download or read book The Concubine s Children written by Denise Chong and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Finalist for the 1994 Governor General's Award" "The Concubine's Children" is the story of a family cleaved in two for the sake of a father's dream. There's Chan Sam, who left an "at home" wife in China to earn a living in "Gold Mountain"--North America. There's May-ying, the wilful, seventeen-year-old concubine he bought, sight unseen, who labored in tea houses of west coast Chinatowns to support the family he would have in Canada, and the one he had in China. It was the concubine's third daughter, the author's mother, who unlocked the past for her daughter, whose curiosity about some old photographs ultimately reunited a family divided for most of the last century.
