
The Painter of Shanghai
Jennifer Cody Epstein(Author)
Penguin Books Ltd (Publisher)
Published on 3. April 2008
Book
Paperback/Softback
496 pages
978-0-14-102933-7 (ISBN)
Description
In 1913 an orphan girl boards a steamship bound for Wuhu in South East China. Left in the hands of her soft-hearted but opium-addicted uncle she is delivered to The Hall of Eternal Splendour which, with its painted faces and troubling cries in the night, seems destined to break her spirit.
And yet the girl survives and one day hope appears in the unlikely form of a customs inspector, a modest man resistant to the charms of the corrupt world that surrounds him but not to the innocent girl who stands before him. From the crowded rooms of a small-town brothel, heavy with the smoke of opium pipes and the breath of drunken merchants, to the Bohemian hedonism of Paris and the 1930s studios of Shanghai, Jennifer Epstein's first novel, based on a true story, is an exquisite evocation of a fascinating time and place, with a breathtaking heroine at its heart.
And yet the girl survives and one day hope appears in the unlikely form of a customs inspector, a modest man resistant to the charms of the corrupt world that surrounds him but not to the innocent girl who stands before him. From the crowded rooms of a small-town brothel, heavy with the smoke of opium pipes and the breath of drunken merchants, to the Bohemian hedonism of Paris and the 1930s studios of Shanghai, Jennifer Epstein's first novel, based on a true story, is an exquisite evocation of a fascinating time and place, with a breathtaking heroine at its heart.
Reviews / Votes
Among the new names worth keeping an eye on * Robert McCrumb, Observer *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
586 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-14-102933-7 (9780141029337)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Jennifer Cody Epstein
The Painter of Shanghai
E-Book
04/2008
1st Edition
Penguin Books Ltd
€8.99
Available for download
Previous edition
Jennifer Cody Epstein
The Painter of Shanghai
Book
04/2008
Penguin Books Ltd
€27.43
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Jennifer Cody Epstein has worked as a journalist in both the US and Asia. She has a Bachelors' degree in English/Asian Studies from Amherst College, a Masters in International Relations from Johns Hopkins University, and a MFA in fiction from Columbia. She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and two daughters.