All the king’s women : the story of a Hong Kong family [Samuel French acting ed.]

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All the king’s women : the story of a Hong Kong family [Samuel French acting ed.]

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ALL THE KING'S WOMEN The Story of a Hong Kong Family

To My Family

'This work is of the historical fiction genre. Its particular focus and approach to historical treatment make it quite unique.' — Barry Lowe Department of English, City University of Hong Kong

'All the King's Women makes fascinating and enthralling reading. This is especially so for me since, as a historian, I have long been deeply interested in the places where the "King's Women" lived and the times they lived in. In telling the life stories of the women, Mimi Chan tells as so much and so well about the rural societies in various parts of Guangdong and the urban societies of Guangzhou and Hong Kong, not only during the King's life-span of sixty years, which ended abruptly in 1944, but in many instances right to the end of the twentieth century.'

Department

— Chan Lau Kit-ching of History, The University of Hong Kong

'This fictional history is the best thing Mimi Chan has done. All her strengths and skills as a writer come together here. The narrative voice is totally her own, and also the sharp eye (and sharp tongue), the play of wit and the m o b i l e m i n d . H e r voice e c h o e s t h o s e o t h e r s , t h e generations of women whose talk she reveals and revels in. The telling itself is part of the history and the author finds herself completely in the history.' — John Preston former Professor of English, University of Warwick and The University of Hong Kong

'All the King's Women reads as an onion peels — with each layer more is exposed until you get to the heart, the domestic life and habits of a super-wealthy Chinese family in the early decades of the 20th century . . . As the reader's credulity is stretched, Mimi Chan pulls us back to the present by interspersing the stories of the women's lives with modern commentary. It is this commentary which, juxtaposed against the backdrop of the struggles of the women to find a refuge, knits the book together . . . We know at the outset that the cosseted life will end but we come to care for the participants and root for their survival outside of the smothering protection of "The King".' — Ann Wisotski Chang Trustee of the Acton Memorial Library, Massachusetts; former editor of the Acton Citizen

'Hong Kong has found a new literary voice — All the King's Women is a treasure trove of little histories which together make up a fascinating picture of Hong Kong in the early twentieth century . . . Reading this book is like unpacking a long-locked camphor chest — it is full of exquisite surprises and forgotten colours that flare up again in the light . . . This book is a fine addition to the growing corpus of novels viewing modern Asian history through the eyes of Asian women.' — Dino Mahoney Department of English, City University of Hong Kong; playwright and broadcaster

ALL THE KING'S WOMEN The Story of a Hong Kong Family

Mimi Chan

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H O N G KONG U N I V E R S I T Y P R E S S

H o n g K o n g University P r e s s 14/F Hing Wai Centre 7 Tin Wan Praya Road Aberdeen Hong Kong

© Hong Kong University Press 2000 ISBN 962 209 515 1

All rights reserved. No portion of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

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