{"title":"Alexandra Curry","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"courtesan-book-alexandra-curry-9781785770166","title":"The Courtesan","description":"A sweeping historical epic of a young Chinese woman in imperial Europe - perfect for fans of Memoirs of a Geisha  The year is 1881, the era of China's humiliation at the hands of imperialist Europe. Seven-year-old Sai Jinhua is left alone and unprotected, her life transformed after her mandarin father's summary execution for the crime of speaking the truth.   Now an orphan, Jinhua is sold to a brothel and put to work as a 'money tree', enduring the very worst of human nature thanks to the friendship and wisdom of the crippled brothel maid.   But when an elegant but troubled scholar takes Jinhua as his concubine, her world begins to expand. With him she will travel to Vienna, seeing things she has never imagined, and opening her heart to dreams she has never dared to dream . . .   Based on the true story of Sai Jinhua, Alexandra Curry's debut novel, The Courtesan, travels from the depths of the Chinese empire to the palaces of Vienna, and tells the true story of one young woman's journey from the depths of poverty to the centre of Chinese history.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49556188954897,"sku":"GOR007509063","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49605689573649,"sku":"GOR007694090","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49662541267217,"sku":"GOR007784695","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51417716162833,"sku":"CIN1785770160G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":52815963980049,"sku":"CIN1785770160A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1785770160.jpg?v=1758967007"},{"product_id":"courtesan-book-alexandra-curry-9780525955139","title":"The Courtesan","description":"A timeless novel of one woman who bridged two worlds in a tumultuous era of East meets West\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThe Courtesanis an astonishing tale inspired by the real life of a woman wholived and loved in the extraordinary twilight decades of the Qing dynasty. To this day, Sai Jinhua is a legend in her native land of China, and this is her story, told the way it might have been. \u003cbr\u003eThe year is 1881. Seven-year-old Jinhua is left an orphan, alone and unprotected after her mandarin father s summary execution for the crime of speaking the truth. For seven silver coins, she is sold to a brothel-keeper and subjected to the worst of human nature. Will the private ritual that is her father s legacy and the wise friendship of the crippled brothel maid be enough to sustain her? \u003cbr\u003eWhen an elegant but troubled scholar takes Jinhua as his concubine, she enters the close world of his jealous first wife. Yet it is Jinhua who accompanies him--as Emissary to the foreign devil nations of Prussia, Austro-Hungary, and Russia--on an exotic journey to Vienna. As he struggles to play his part in China's early, blundering diplomatic engagement with the western world, Jinhua s eyes and heart are opened to the irresistible possibilities of a place that is mesmerizing and strange, whereshe will struggle against the constraints of tradition and her husband s authority and seek to find Great Love. \u003cbr\u003eSai Jinhua is an altered woman when she returns to a changed and changing China, where a dangerousclash of cultures pits East against West. The moment arrives when Jinhua s western sympathies will threaten not only her own survival, but the survival of those who are most dear to her. \u003cbr\u003eA book that shines a small light on the large history of China s relationship with the West, The Courtesanis a novel that distills, with the economy of a poem, a woman s journey of untold miles to discern what is real and abiding.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49648098279697,"sku":"GOR008480228","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50572314706193,"sku":"CIN0525955135VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50618264715537,"sku":"CIN0525955135G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0525955135.jpg?v=1751197634"},{"product_id":"courtesan-book-alexandra-curry-9781101984727","title":"The Courtesan","description":"\u003cb\u003eA timeless novel inspired by the legendary real-life Chinese courtesan Sai Jinhua--an extraordinary woman who bridged two worlds in the twilight decades of the Qing dynasty, a tumultuous era of East meets West.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e The year is 1881. Seven-year-old Jinhua is left an orphan, alone and unprotected after her mandarin father's summary execution for the crime of speaking the truth. For seven silver coins, she is sold to a brothel-keeper and subjected to the worst of human nature.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e When an elegant but troubled scholar takes Jinhua as his concubine, she enters the close world of his jealous first wife. Yet it is Jinhua who accompanies him--as emissary to the foreign devil nations of Prussia, Austria-Hungary, and Russia--on an exotic journey to Vienna. As he struggles to play his part in China's early, blundering diplomatic engagement with the Western world, Jinhua's eyes and heart are opened to the irresistible possibilities of a place that is mesmerizing and strange, where she will struggle against the constraints of tradition and her husband's authority and seek to find \"Great Love.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Sai Jinhua is an altered woman when she returns to a changed and changing China, where a dangerous clash of cultures pits East against West. As the Boxer Rebellion brews and finally breaks, Jinhua's Western sympathies will threaten not only her own survival but the survival of those who are most dear to her. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e An authentic and beautifully written portrait of China's relationship with the West, the story of the incredible Sai Jinhua, told the way it might have been, is not to be forgotten.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50377010086161,"sku":"CIN1101984724G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51019228938513,"sku":"NIN9781101984727","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51331249832209,"sku":"CIN1101984724VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52696567480593,"sku":"GOR009894378","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1101984724.jpg?v=1751237544"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-alexandra-curry.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}