Product Description
2008 Winner London Book Festival, Honorable Mention in Fiction
2009 Winner San Francisco Book Festival, Honorable Mention in General Fiction
2009 Winner Hollywood Book Festival, Honorable Mention in General Fiction
A fascinating illumination of nineteenth-century Chinese culture and the complex Englishman Robert Hart, the father of China’s modernization. Hart’s struggles adapting to Chinese culture, always feeling the pull and force of his Victorian British background, are compelling. His relationships with his concubine and his concubine’s sister are poignant—the novel is as much a study of the complexities of love as it is anything else. A powerful novel... November 2008, Judge's commentary from Writer's Digest Self Published Book Awards --
If even half of Lofthouse’s narrative is true, it’s a stunning work that enmeshes imperialism, modernity, miscegenation and plain old desire in a sweaty matrix of destruction and painful birth.” CITY WEEKEND Magazine (Beijing; Shanghai; Guangzhou)
May 8, 2008 issue, Lee Mack, Deputy Managing Editor --
“Lofthouse believes Hart was motivated to destroy his papers not out of shame but out of privacy: ‘What he had with Ayaou was something special he wanted to keep to himself. I don't think he would approve of My Splendid Concubine ... but we live in a different age than Victorian England. I feel that this love story deserves to be told.’ ” East Bay Express, Arts & Culture, By Anneli Rufus, May, 21, 2008 --
"My Splendid Concubine is packed cover to cover with intriguing characters and plot, a must read for historical fiction fans and a fine addition to any collection on the genre." Midwest Book Review, May 8
2009 Winner San Francisco Book Festival, Honorable Mention in General Fiction
2009 Winner Hollywood Book Festival, Honorable Mention in General Fiction
A fascinating illumination of nineteenth-century Chinese culture and the complex Englishman Robert Hart, the father of China’s modernization. Hart’s struggles adapting to Chinese culture, always feeling the pull and force of his Victorian British background, are compelling. His relationships with his concubine and his concubine’s sister are poignant—the novel is as much a study of the complexities of love as it is anything else. A powerful novel... November 2008, Judge's commentary from Writer's Digest Self Published Book Awards --
If even half of Lofthouse’s narrative is true, it’s a stunning work that enmeshes imperialism, modernity, miscegenation and plain old desire in a sweaty matrix of destruction and painful birth.” CITY WEEKEND Magazine (Beijing; Shanghai; Guangzhou)
May 8, 2008 issue, Lee Mack, Deputy Managing Editor --
“Lofthouse believes Hart was motivated to destroy his papers not out of shame but out of privacy: ‘What he had with Ayaou was something special he wanted to keep to himself. I don't think he would approve of My Splendid Concubine ... but we live in a different age than Victorian England. I feel that this love story deserves to be told.’ ” East Bay Express, Arts & Culture, By Anneli Rufus, May, 21, 2008 --
"My Splendid Concubine is packed cover to cover with intriguing characters and plot, a must read for historical fiction fans and a fine addition to any collection on the genre." Midwest Book Review, May 8
About the Author
Lloyd Lofthouse earned a BA in journalism after fighting in Vietnam as a U.S. Marine. While working days as an English teacher at a high school in California, he enjoyed a second job as a maitre d? in a multimillion-dollar nightclub. He now lives near San Francisco with his wife, with a second home in Shanghai, China. Mr. Lofthouse may be contacted through www.mysplendidconcubine.com.
