My Fair Concubine

Starred review from April 2, 2012
Lin (The Dragon and the Pearl) combines wit, seduction, skill, and intelligence in a tantalizing take on “My Fair Lady.” In ninth-century China, Fei Long is a soldier from a noble family whose sister, Pearl, runs away with her lover to avoid becoming an alliance bride. After Fei Long gives his sister all of his money and allows her to escape, he meets the orphan Yan Ling, who begs him for help. He proposes a plan to substitute her for Pearl to maintain his family’s wealth and honor. As Fei Long and his friends undertake the magnificent transformation of the unlearned and outspoken servant into a well-bred noblewoman, fooling even the suspicious Inspector Tong, the teacher and the pupil soon fall in love—jeopardizing the whole scheme. Readers will enjoy the classic tale’s new trappings as well as being educated by Yan Ling’s lessons in Tang Dynasty etiquette, politics, and economics.