If the author intended for her to be spunky and confident, I didn't feel it. Lydia, the main character, was especially aggravating and unbelievable to me.

the majority of the characters were unrelatable, confusing and/or pointless. the title is extremely misleading! According to my dictionary, a concubine is NOT a teenage girlfriend of a youngish 20-something single guy Ģ. I was so disappointed with this work of historical fiction! Since I had this book on my shelf for over 2 years, I thought it was time to read it. Once we meet nothing will every be the same again. We learn from everyone we come in contact with and they from us. It made me see how love can see past color and country, even language. This book covers the chinese, russian and english people, customs and how they can clash and compliment each other. The biggest thing this book taught me, is that it's not just the British who can be knights in shining armour. Sometimes gallantry is knowing when to stay away. Sometimes it's doing the right thing, because it's the right thing. Some times gallantry isn't about opening doors and being polite. This book took my preconceptions and flipped them upside down. She could sense them inside her, surging and flowing, doubling back and overlapping.' Everyone who touched your life sent a ripple effect through you, and all the ripples interconnected. '.now she knew tht you didn't survive on your own. I'm going to start with a quote straight from the book. Very little language, but a couple of steamy love making, and a couple of nasty violent scenes (all of which had to be there to make the book so great).

The Russian Concubine contains fictional characters and events, but Kate made use of the extraordinary situation that was her mother's childhood experience - that of two White Russian refugees, a mother and daughter, stuck without money or papers in an International Settlement in China.įirst of all I give this book two big thumbs up. It was when her mother died in 2000 that Kate decided to write a book inspired by her mother's story. She travelled widely, giving her an insight into how different cultures function which was to prove invaluable when writing The Russian Concubine.

Then into advertising where she met her future husband, Norman. Kate went to London University where she studied English and from there she went into publishing, writing material for a series of books on the canals of Britain. These values Kate explores in The Russian Concubine. Her mother, whose own childhood was spent in Russia, China and India, discovered at an early age that the world around us is so volatile, that the only things of true value are those inside your head and your heart. Kate Furnivall was raised in Penarth, a small seaside town in Wales.

The russian concubine