Debut Novel by Robert Wang, The Opium Lord's Daughter, Garners Multiple National Book Awards

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May 12, 2020, 08:38 ET

OJAI, Calif., May 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With his debut novel, The Opium Lord's Daughter, Robert Wang delivers a sweeping story rich in Chinese culture and customs showing China's internal struggles as the country opened to the West in the 1840s. The story is told from dual perspectives—Chinese and British—about the First Opium War, a tragic and history-altering conflict that was the beginning of China's wariness of the West. Many of the betrayals by the British back then still resonate with China today and affect its dealings with the western world.

"Wang's descriptions and antidotes bring the narrative to life and capture the complexities of this time…and crafts a spellbinding tale of love, endurance, sorrow, history, and strength." San Francisco Book Review 5 stars -- "Robert Wang has written a debut novel that tells not just a compelling, enlightening, and riveting story but also a very educational one in the genre of historical fiction. In the style of James Clavell's Shogun and Ken Follett's Pillars of the Earth" Portland Book Review

Robert Wang was born in Japan and raised in Hong Kong before moving to the United States, Chinese American businessman Robert Wang has a firsthand perspective of both Chinese and Western cultures and their entwined history. Since he first learned as a schoolboy how the Opium Wars formed the basis for mod¬ern Chinese politics and history, Wang had been fascinated by this period. He spent years researching the history, facts, and fictions of the Opium War, in China and the US

The book has received excellent reviews and is now garnering multiple awards for historical fiction. The Independent Press Award named the book the winner of the multi-cultural fiction category. Readers are still voting for the Reader's Choice Award, where it is a finalist and leading in the vote tally. The book has also been named a finalist for both the Book Excellence Awards and SPR Book Awards.

"I am grateful for the acknowledgment that the book strikes a chord with readers," said author Robert Wang. "Today, there are so many tensions between China and the USA. My goal was to tell a story that is powerfully relevant to our times, when opioid addiction is once again in the headlines as well as trade wars. History is more than academic theories--it is the stories of real people affected by events put in motion by other real people. I hope that by the end of my book, you, the reader, come away with an understanding of how and why the Opium Wars took place and are intrigued by both the fiction and the history."

The Opium Lord's Daughter artfully weaves actual events and characters into the narrative, offering the reader a selective glimpse into a world populated with rogue drug traders, imperialist government officials, religious zealots, and scrappy survivors.

Learn more about the book and the Opium Wars at RobertWangAuthor.com. Available through all major retailers.

About the story…

Su-Mei is a young woman unbounded by convention. From the moment we meet her, she bravely resists her wealthy and powerful father—one of the largest opium traders in mid-19th century China—who attempts to force her into the barbaric practice of foot binding. Through her, readers look with fresh eyes upon antiquated and harmful traditions and understand how time and experiences genuinely shape a person during their life's journey.

Her defiance sets in motion a series of events, forever altering her fate, as well as the fortunes of those she holds dear. Su-Mei is forced to rapidly come-of-age and muster her heroic spirit to survive her crumbling world. Forbidden romances, tumultuous adventures, and heart-wrenching tragedies befall Su-Mei and her loved ones throughout the story as they are drawn into the Opium Wars.

For interview or reviews, contact Kathleen Kaiser, 805-607-6717, [email protected]

SOURCE Robert Wang