Following the harrowing journey of Lady Lee Su-Mei and her family, The OpiumLord''s Daughter is a work of historical fiction told from dual perspectives-Chineseand English-about the First Opium War, a dramatic and history-altering conflict.Su-Mei is a young woman not bound by convention, particularly the convention of footbinding. When we are first introduced to Su-Mei, the main character from which thehistorical novel The Opium Lord''s Daughter derives its name, her heroic spirit isforetold as she valiantly resists her wealthy and powerful father-one of the largestopium traders in mid-19th century China-as he attempts to force her into thisbarbaric practice. Her defiance sets in motion a series of events forever alteringher fate as well as the fates of those in her crumbling world. Through Su-Mei,readers are able to look with fresh eyes upon antiquated and harmful traditions andunderstand how time and experiences truly shape a person during their life''sjourney. Following in the tradition of noted historical fiction writers such as KenFollett, Philippa Gregory, and James Clavell, Wang''s novel artfully weaves trueevents and characters into the narrative, offering the reader a selective glimpseinto a world-populated with rogue drug traders, imperialist government officials,religious zealots, and scrappy survivors. Readers are treated to a coming-of-agestory filled with romance, adventure, and tragedy. Wang takes us on an expeditionthrough the destruction of a culture, while underscoring the hold and havoc drugempires continue to exert in society, even to this day.