Historical Fiction Asia

Jialing is only seven years old in 1908, when she is abandoned in the courtyard of a once-lavish estate near Shanghai. Jialing is zazhong - Eurasian - and faces a lifetime of contempt from both Chinese and Europeans. Without her mother's protection, she can survive only if the estate's new owners, the Yang family, agree to take her in.

The rediscovery of philosopher Ling Tzu’s (1159-1207) seminal work, The Way, has given the modern world a spiritual guide that contains one-hundred and thirty-five Universal Truths for living a life of purpose and direction. While over eight centuries have passed since these messages were written, it appears that time has stood still, motionless after many millennia.The Universal Truths are as relevant today as they were when the ancient scribe guided his pen in ink and assigned his wisdom upon a silk clothe. After all, true wisdom cannot be erased, diminished, or altered by time.

The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon is a fascinating, detailed account of Japanese court life in the closing years of the 10th century. Written by a lady of the court at the height of Heian culture, this book enthrals with its lively gossip, witty observations and subtle impressions. Lady Shōnagon was an erstwhile rival of Lady Murasaki, whose novel, The Tale of Genji, fictionalized the elite world Lady Shōnagon so eloquently relates.

India, 1986: Mukta, a 10-year-old village girl from the lower-caste Yellama cult, has come of age and must fulfill her destiny of becoming a temple prostitute, as her mother and grandmother did before her. In an attempt to escape her fate, Mukta is sent to be a house girl for an upper-middle class family in Mumbai. There she discovers a friend in the daughter of the family, high-spirited eight-year-old Tara, who helps her recover from the wounds of her past.

On the eve of China’s Cultural Revolution and her sixteenth birthday, Mei dreams of becoming a model revolutionary. When the Communist Party recruits girls for a mysterious duty in the capital, she seizes the opportunity to escape her impoverished village. It is only when Mei arrives at the Chairman’s opulent residence—a forbidden city unto itself—that she learns that the girls’ job is to dance with the Party elites. Ambitious and whip-smart, Mei beelines toward the Chairman.

A concubine at the palace learns quickly that there are many ways to capture the emperor's attention. Many paint their faces white and style their hair attractively, hoping to lure in the One Above All with their beauty. Some present him with fantastic gifts, such as jade pendants and scrolls of calligraphy, while others rely on their knowledge of seduction to draw his interest. Young Mei knows nothing of these womanly arts, yet she will give the emperor a gift he can never forget.

Vancouver, 1942. Josiah Chang arrives in the bustling city ready to make a new life for himself. The Second World War is in full swing, and Josiah, like so many Canadians, wants to prove his loyalty by serving his country. But Chinese Canadians are barred from joining the army out of fear they might expect citizenship in return. So, Josiah heads to the shipyard where he finds work as a riveter, fastening together the ribs and steel plates of Victory ships. One night, Josiah spots Poppy singing at a navy club. Despite their different backgrounds, they fall for each other instantly.

At the peak of the war in Vietnam, a baby girl is born along the Song Ma River on the night of the full moon. This is Rabbit, who will journey away from her destroyed village with a makeshift family thrown together by war. Here is a Vietnam we've never encountered before: Through Rabbit's inexplicable but radiant intuition, we are privy to an intimate version of history, from the days of French Indochina and the World War II rubber plantations through the chaos of postwar reunification.

Meet Tony: insatiably curious, deeply compassionate, with a unique perspective on every scene he encounters. Kidnapped and transported to the New World after traveling from the British East India Company’s outpost on the Coromandel Coast to the teeming streets of London, young Tony finds himself in Jamestown, Virginia, where he and his fellow indentured servants—boys like himself, men from Africa, a mad woman from London—must work the tobacco plantations. Orphaned and afraid, Tony initially longs for home.

The time is World War II. The place is a brutal prison camp deep in Japanese-occupied territory. Here, within the seething mass of humanity, one man, an American corporal, seeks dominance over both captives and captors alike. His weapons are human courage, unblinking understanding of human weaknesses, and total willingness to exploit every opportunity to enlarge his power and corrupt or destroy anyone who stands in his path.

Can she escape her fate? In 1942 China, Magnolia dreams of becoming a soldier, and marriage is the last thing on her mind. But when her father’s superior, a Sichuan army general, arranges for her to marry the Mosuo chief, she becomes bound to a man she has never met. To escape her fate, Magnolia decides to run away. Alas, she runs right into the man she is supposed to marry. Zhaxi is on his way to pick up his future bride. The daughter of an army captain will strengthen his ties with the Hans. But his betrothed turns out to be much different than he expected: she’s rebellious and ...

In 1861, foreign ships have forced open Japan's doors to the West. Missionaries have come to Japan; they are there to save men's souls, but to the Japanese they are there to spread false religion. The young Lord Genji, who possesses the power of prophecy, flees to the Cloud of Sparrows castle, where he shelters two American missionaries. Together with a legendary swordsman and an enigmatic geisha, they embark on a harrowing journey through a dangerous landscape to prepare for a final battle.

An adventure novel set in Central Asia during the early 1920s through the mid-1920s. Discover a gripping tale of exploration, ancient mysteries, and unforgettable discovery in "The Desert Gate," an adventure novel that takes you deep into the heart of Central Asia during the roaring twenties. Set against the dramatic landscape of Central Asia, "The Desert Gate" chronicles the epic journey of Harry Taggert, a war-weary Englishman longing for one final adventure before returning to the monotony of everyday life. A chance visit to the Karachi Gymkhana Club leads Harry to meet John Sonjay, a ...

A missionary doctor pines for his native New England even as he succumbs to the vibrant chaos of 19th-century Siam. A post-World War II society woman marries, mothers, and holds court, little suspecting her solitary fate. A jazz pianist in the age of rock, haunted by his own ghosts, is summoned to appease the house's resident spirits. In the present, a young woman tries to outpace the long shadow of her political past. And in a New Krungthep yet to come, savvy teenagers row tourists past landmarks of the drowned old city they themselves do not remember.

With Souma's defeat of the giant monster that menaced the Nine-Headed Dragon Archipelago, the people of the Kingdom celebrate his achievement. However, as far as the rest of the world is concerned, someone else has done something even greater-reclaim a piece of the Demon Lord's Domain. That is what Fuuga, King of Malmkhitan, has accomplished.

Two years have passed since the Spirit King's Curse shook the world. In this time, Souma and the Kingdom of Friedonia have been preparing for an impending period of unprecedented chaos. However, the Kingdom was not the only country to burgeon over the two years. Fuuga has been expanding the border of his Great Tiger Kingdom of Haan as well. Following the acquisition of the Lunarian Orthodox Papal State, Fuuga sought to bring the Mercenary State Zem under his control. Now, having gained such powerful forces, he declares war on mankind's greatest nation—the Gran Chaos Empire.

Life near the North Korean border is a zero-sum game, an ongoing battle in which you either win or you lose. This dangerous, shadowed netherworld is home to an unforgettable woman known only as the “trickster.” Inspired by the story of Lee’s great aunt, one of the oldest women to escape alone from North Korea, 8 Lives of a Century Old Trickster consists of eight dark and spellbinding chapters that follow this remarkable character and her family as they struggle to survive during the most turbulent times of modern Korean history.

The sixth book in James Clavell's epic Asian Saga tells the story of three weeks in Tehran in February 1979 - three weeks of passion, self-sacrifice, and heartbreak. When the shah is thrown out of Iran, the nation's turmoil becomes world headlines. Caught in this shifting world of fanaticism, ambition, duplicity, and violent death are the foreign helicopter pilots who have been servicing the oil fields up and down the country. Their one objective is to make a bold, concerted escape to safety across the Gulf.

Los Angeles brims with opportunity in 1959—though not for aspiring fashion designer Cordelia Mai Yin, the first-generation child of Vietnamese immigrants, who finds the city unkind to outsiders and as dispirited as her own family. When Cordi rents a cheap loft in an old apartment building, she quickly warms to kindred souls Tessa, Audrey, and Silly. They also want better things and have pasts they’d rather forget. That they all share the same middle name makes their friendship seem like destiny.

The clans have successfully reached North America. Now they must find an unoccupied land where they can make their new home. This book follows the main protagonist (Defender) through his marriage to Dawn and the subsequent marriage his son and daughter to the people that they meet in the New World. Life spans are short in a world without scientific medical care. Defender's father died before they crossed the Bering Strait to North America. Eventually his mother will pass away as well. Finally, Defender himself dies and leaves Dawn a widow in the New World that he has led the People of the ...