The Fourth Princess

A Gothic Novel of Old Shanghai

By: Janie Chang

Narrated by: Katharine Chin, Saskia Maarleveld, Caroline Hewitt

From the internationally bestselling author of The Porcelain Moon comes a haunting Gothic novel set in 1911 China. Two young women living in a crumbling, once-grand Shanghai mansion face danger as secrets of their pasts come to light, even as the mansion’s own secret threatens the present. Narrated by Katharine Chin, Saskia Maarleveld, and Caroline Hewitt, who masterfully brings the layered storytelling of this Gothic tale to life."

Shanghai, 1911. Lisan Liu is elated when she is hired as secretary to wealthy American Caroline Stanton, the new mistress of Lennox Manor on the outskirts of Shanghai’s International Settlement. However, the Manor has a dark past due to a previous owner’s suicide, and soon Lisan’s childhood nightmares resurface with more intensity and meld with haunted visions of a woman in red. Adding to her unease is the young gardener, Yao, who both entices and disturbs her.

Newly married Caroline looks forward to life in China with her husband, Thomas, away from the shadows of another earlier tragedy. But an unwelcome guest, Andrew Grey, attends her party and claims to know secrets she can’t afford to have exposed. At the same party, the notorious princess Masako Kyo approaches Lisan with questions about the young woman’s family that the orphaned Lisan can’t answer.

As Caroline struggles with Grey’s extortion and Thomas’s mysterious illness, Lisan’s future is upended when she learns the truth about her past, and why her identity has been hidden all these years. All the while, strange incidents accelerate, driving Lisan to doubt her sanity as Lennox Manor seems unwilling to release her until she fulfills demands from beyond the grave.

Lovely story about resilience

The Fourth Princess is such a heartfelt twist on a classic fairytale. I love how it highlights quiet strength and personal growth, showing that courage doesn’t have to be loud to be powerful. I also enjoyed the sprinkles of history embedded in the supernatural. An enjoyable read or listen for anyone who wants to escape to the early 1900s shanghai.