The Secret Mandarin: A sweeping historical fiction romance novel set in Victorian London and 1840s China by Sara Sheridan
Sara Sheridan . Unknown Year . English
A disgraced woman. A faraway land. A forbidden love… Desperate to shield her from scandal, Mary's brother-in-law, the ambitious botanist Robert Fortune, forces her to accompany him on a mission to China to steal tea plants for the East India Company. But Robert conceals his secret motives – to spy for the British forces, newly victorious in the recent Opium War. His task is both difficult and dangerous – the British are still regarded as enemies by the Chinese and exporting tea bushes carries the death sentence. In these harsh conditions Mary grieves for her London life and the baby she has been forced to leave behind, while her fury at Robert intensifies. As their quest becomes increasingly treacherous, Robert and Mary disguise themselves as a bureaucrat and man-servant. Thousands of miles from everything familiar, Mary revels in her new freedom and the Chinese way of life – and when danger strikes, finds unexpected reserves of courage. The Secret Mandarin is an unforgettable story of love, fortitude and recklessness – of a strong woman determined to make it in a man's world and a man who will stop at nothing to fulfil his desires.
Categories: Historical Fiction
About the Author
"History is a treasure chest of stories. I love them." Sara Sheridan works in a wide range of media and genres but mostly historical and especially the stories of women. She loves exploring where our culture comes from. In 2018 she remapped Scotland according to women's history. Tipped in Company and GQ magazines, she was nominated for a Young Achiever Award. She has received a Scottish Library Award and has been shortlisted for the Saltire Book Prize and the Wilbur Smith Prize. Her work was included in the David Hume Institute's Summer Reading list 2019. She has sat on the committee for the Society of Authors in Scotland (where she lives) and on the board of '26' the campaign for the importance of words. She took part in 3 '26 Treasures' exhibitions at the V&A, London, The National Museum of Scotland and the Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green. She occasionally blogs for the Guardian about her writing life, the Huffington Post about her activism as a writer and a feminist and puts her hand up to being a 'twitter evangelist'. From time to time she appears on radio, and has reported for BBC Radio 4's From Our Own Correspondent from both Tallin and Sharjah. Sara is a member of the Society of Authors and the Historical Writers Association. A self-confessed 'word nerd' her favourite book is 'Water Music' by TC Boyle. In 2016 she cofounded feminist perfume brand, REEK: artefacts from the project are now held at the National Museums of Scotland and the Glasgow Women's Library.
