Jade: A Novel of China

Spanning forty of the nineteenth century's most turbulent years, JADE captures the rich variety of the Celestial Empire: the harsh formality and exotic sensuality of a traditional Chinese household, the bleak puritanism of missionary outposts, the narrow-minded bigotry and social frivolity of the Westernized treaty ports, the pioneer's rewards and risks of trading up the Yangtze, the idealistic optimism of the young intellectuals of Peking. Amid it all are the signs of an ancient and regal civilization crumbling around the edges, soon to be swept away forever by the tides of history.An epic story teeming with unforgettable characters and vivid locales, set against one of the most thrilling periods of history, JADE ranks with the great panoramic sagas of recent years, from THE FAR PAVILIONS to NOBLE HOUSE, DYNASTY, and SPRING MOON. Invariably exciting, and moving as only the best fiction can be, JADE is a novel to read and remember, a story whose power and charm will linger with its readers long after its last page is turned.