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The Dragon's Lady
Turn-of-the-century San Francisco comes to life in this romance of star-crossed lovers whose love is forbidden by both society and the laws of the time.
Ruth Greer, wealthy daughter of a shipping magnate, finds a young boy who has run away from his home in Chinatown—an area of gambling parlors, opium dens, sing-song girls, as well as families trying to eke out a living. It is also home of a number of highbinder tongs, the infamous “hatchet men” of Chinese lore.
There, Ruth meets the boy's father, Li Han-lin, handsome, enigmatic leader of one such tong, and discovers he is neither as frightening, cruel, or wanton as reputation would have her believe. As Ruth’s fascination with the lawless area grows, she finds herself pulled deeper into its intrigue and dangers, particularly those surrounding Li Han-lin. But the two are from completely different worlds, and when both worlds are shattered by the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 that destroyed most of San Francisco, they face their ultimate test.
NOTE: This is a completely revised edition of the previously released GOLD MOUNTAIN.
Ruth Greer, wealthy daughter of a shipping magnate, finds a young boy who has run away from his home in Chinatown—an area of gambling parlors, opium dens, sing-song girls, as well as families trying to eke out a living. It is also home of a number of highbinder tongs, the infamous “hatchet men” of Chinese lore.
There, Ruth meets the boy's father, Li Han-lin, handsome, enigmatic leader of one such tong, and discovers he is neither as frightening, cruel, or wanton as reputation would have her believe. As Ruth’s fascination with the lawless area grows, she finds herself pulled deeper into its intrigue and dangers, particularly those surrounding Li Han-lin. But the two are from completely different worlds, and when both worlds are shattered by the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 that destroyed most of San Francisco, they face their ultimate test.
NOTE: This is a completely revised edition of the previously released GOLD MOUNTAIN.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
255 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
November 25, 2021
I really enjoyed this historical romance and only came across it after an intense search trying to find anything similar to the show Warrior that I am obsessed with.
I was doubtful after reading some poor reviews but clearly this sort of book is a required taste.
I liked the time and location setting, a very interesting pocket of history with its prejudiced laws, culture clashes, illegal activities etc.
The MCs Ruth Greer and Li Han-lin were likeable, nothing particularly impressive nor special about either of them, just representations of ordinary people, and what can be more romantic than finding love and commonality between two seemingly different people in a society that dictates such a thing to be impossible and wrong?
I liked that the author didn't shy away from aspects of the time and environment that were harsh and wrote about them unflinchingly but also not too graphically that would turn readers of romance off.
The romantic scenes were not heavily described as to fall into erotica- which I appreciate the subtle approach.
The story was overall sweet and recounted the struggles the MCs faced in their relationship set against the backdrop of warring tongs, the San Francisco earthquake and fire (which the initial quake was quickly referred to, almost rushed - that is my only negative, as I would have liked a bit more drama/action/tension in that scene)
For anyone who enjoys historical romance, sweet non graphic relationships, drama, interracial/cultural romance than I recommend this book.
I was doubtful after reading some poor reviews but clearly this sort of book is a required taste.
I liked the time and location setting, a very interesting pocket of history with its prejudiced laws, culture clashes, illegal activities etc.
The MCs Ruth Greer and Li Han-lin were likeable, nothing particularly impressive nor special about either of them, just representations of ordinary people, and what can be more romantic than finding love and commonality between two seemingly different people in a society that dictates such a thing to be impossible and wrong?
I liked that the author didn't shy away from aspects of the time and environment that were harsh and wrote about them unflinchingly but also not too graphically that would turn readers of romance off.
The romantic scenes were not heavily described as to fall into erotica- which I appreciate the subtle approach.
The story was overall sweet and recounted the struggles the MCs faced in their relationship set against the backdrop of warring tongs, the San Francisco earthquake and fire (which the initial quake was quickly referred to, almost rushed - that is my only negative, as I would have liked a bit more drama/action/tension in that scene)
For anyone who enjoys historical romance, sweet non graphic relationships, drama, interracial/cultural romance than I recommend this book.
March 17, 2023
Drama and history!
This book was refreshing as it spoke about USA history that I was aware of but have never studied. I feel as though the characters are friends that I will miss. I loved the epitaph, it kept me from wondering how they faired.
This book was refreshing as it spoke about USA history that I was aware of but have never studied. I feel as though the characters are friends that I will miss. I loved the epitaph, it kept me from wondering how they faired.
February 26, 2018
This is the book I read but lists a different author...Joanne Pence. Also known as Gold Mountain. Good story and lots of history.
July 10, 2012
Ruth Greer is the well-to-do daughter of a San Francisco shipping magnate who chafes at the strictures of her early 20th-century life. She wants to travel, be a businesswoman and so on ... all the while knowing that society will dictate a different life for her.
When she meets a young boy who has run away from Chinatown and, subsequently, his family, her life changes a great deal. She starts visiting Chinatown every day to teach the children and their mother English ... and falls in love with their father, Li Han-Lin. This is why the author calls it a book of forbidden love.
Naturally, the author deals with the 1906 earthquake ... and this is where the book first goes a little south for me. While she's clearly done *some* of her homework, she credits the San Francisco fire department with dynamiting the Van Ness corridor in order to create a fire break. This was actually ordered by Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston, then commander of Fort Mason, who essentially placed the City under martial law in order to ensure its survival.
There was an additional problem in that Ms. Lodge did not seem to understand the full impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act (she makes an oblique reference to it as a miscegenation law). There were strict penalties for violating said law, up to and including loss of citizenship for Americans who violated any of its tenets. This was conveniently overlooked for the sake of the story Lodge wanted to tell.
When these blatant errors in fact met up with errors in grammar (incorrect pluralization, homophone errors, punctuation problems, etc.), I just could not find it in my heart to give the book a higher rating. That's a real pity, because the plot was sound and Lodge is a good storyteller. She did a beautiful job of showing what life was like in Chinatown, with its tongs, sing-song girls and most people just trying to get along in a world where prejudice and bigotry were considered normal ways to behave.
When she meets a young boy who has run away from Chinatown and, subsequently, his family, her life changes a great deal. She starts visiting Chinatown every day to teach the children and their mother English ... and falls in love with their father, Li Han-Lin. This is why the author calls it a book of forbidden love.
Naturally, the author deals with the 1906 earthquake ... and this is where the book first goes a little south for me. While she's clearly done *some* of her homework, she credits the San Francisco fire department with dynamiting the Van Ness corridor in order to create a fire break. This was actually ordered by Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston, then commander of Fort Mason, who essentially placed the City under martial law in order to ensure its survival.
There was an additional problem in that Ms. Lodge did not seem to understand the full impact of the Chinese Exclusion Act (she makes an oblique reference to it as a miscegenation law). There were strict penalties for violating said law, up to and including loss of citizenship for Americans who violated any of its tenets. This was conveniently overlooked for the sake of the story Lodge wanted to tell.
When these blatant errors in fact met up with errors in grammar (incorrect pluralization, homophone errors, punctuation problems, etc.), I just could not find it in my heart to give the book a higher rating. That's a real pity, because the plot was sound and Lodge is a good storyteller. She did a beautiful job of showing what life was like in Chinatown, with its tongs, sing-song girls and most people just trying to get along in a world where prejudice and bigotry were considered normal ways to behave.
August 30, 2012
The Dragon's Lady by Joanne Pence is a love story, but it's more than a love story. Pence delves into Chinese American cultural relations in 1906 San Francisco. She immerses the reader into the vast differences in the lives of the white population and the Chinese population through the lives of Ruth Greer and Li Hanlin while demonstrating how people themselves tend to be very similar regardless of culture. When Ruth meets Hanlin, she feels an immediate attraction that leads her to look for reasons to return to the Li household. She becomes an English tutor for the Li family much to her father's dismay and confusion. Ruth's father works hard to separate her from Hanlin as Hanlin fights his attraction to Ruth. Pence's exploration of the culture of Chinatown is at once interesting, engaging, and discomforting. Pence pulls the reader into a world filled with drugs, sex, and violence seen from multiple angles. Her writing depicts the world in which the characters live without being gratuitously graphic. The characters populating the pages of The Dragon Lady are as diverse as the people who populated San Francisco in 1906. Tragedy, bigotry, misconceptions, betrayal, loyalty, and love, both romantic and familial, travel through the pages of The Dragon's Lady taking the reader on a journey of survival, triumph, loss, and renewal that rings as relevant today as it did during the 1906 time period in which it was set. Pence's words inspire the reader to look beyond the exterior to the individual's heart and soul before passing judgment.
February 17, 2015
3.75 Stars
A well-researched historical romance. 4.25 stars on the history, 3.5 stars on the romance. The story is set in San Francisco (mostly in Chinatown) just after the turn of the century, specifically before, during, and after the 1906 earthquake. The atmosphere seems spot on (especially the cultural differences and the racism at the time). The romance is a slow burn, but it doesn't take away from the story. For historical fiction/romance fans.
LT Member Giveaway
A well-researched historical romance. 4.25 stars on the history, 3.5 stars on the romance. The story is set in San Francisco (mostly in Chinatown) just after the turn of the century, specifically before, during, and after the 1906 earthquake. The atmosphere seems spot on (especially the cultural differences and the racism at the time). The romance is a slow burn, but it doesn't take away from the story. For historical fiction/romance fans.
LT Member Giveaway
January 29, 2013
A white woman falls in love with an asian man at a time when such marriages would be deemed illegal. This is their story which is also complicated by warring tongs and the great San Fransisco earthquake.
This was a slow read, but not bad, with some historical documentation included.
This was a slow read, but not bad, with some historical documentation included.
July 18, 2014
I love anything from this time period. Especially if it pertains to Chinatown and human relations. So this was a nice quick read. Better then I expected with more detail for history. Plus I'm a sucker for a well-written badboy.
March 8, 2015
This is an interesting story. The subject matter was actually interesting, but the plot and characters were classic flat romantic fiction characters, without the romantic interactions that make books of this sort interesting for me.
September 9, 2012
California earthquake, Chinatown, Chinese tongs, families torn apart, Chinese/Caucasian love affair along with interesting history of the times made for an enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews