Despite these flaws, Furnivall vividly evokes Lydia's character and personal struggles against a backdrop of depravity and corruption. Violence is more prevalent (and graphic) than sex, and the narrative has extended periods of inertia during which there is much action, but not of the plot-advancing sort. Theo's struggle to preserve his school and his happy life with his Chinese mistress, Li Mei, drives him to collude with Li Mei's estranged father-the leader of the Black Snakes-to run opium into Junchow. Lydia's travails are mirrored by those of Theo Willoughby, the British headmaster of her school. Danger is never far as the two fall in love. When Lydia inadvertently attracts the unwelcome attentions of a criminal gang, the Black Snakes, she finds a rescuer in Chang An Lo, an English-speaking Communist and kung fu master. Valentina Ivanova and her 16-year-old daughter, Lydia, White Russian refugees, live in grinding poverty in the International Settlement of Junchow, subsisting off whatever presents Valentina can charm from gentlemen admirers and the profits Lydia makes from pawning stolen goods. Furnivall has two sons and currently lives with her husband in Devon.He experiences of the author's mother inspired this debut novel, a somewhat improbable tale of star-crossed love in 1928 China. Personal life įurnivall attended London University and worked in advertising where she met her future husband Norman. In a city full of thieves and Communists, danger and death, spirited young Lydia Ivanova has lived a hard life. The author's books are published by Sphere, an imprint of the English publishing company, Little, Brown. The Russian Concubine Kate Furnivall, Click to preview A sweeping novel set in war-torn 1928 China, with a star-crossed love story at its center. Furnivall has cited the origins of her writing career in the prolific oeuvre of her husband, also an author, who has written under the pseudonym, "Neville Steed". Career įurnivall's first novel, The Russian Concubine, is based on her mother's life and was written following the latter's death in 2000 (a request to document Furnivall's mother's life came from the author's family in the wake of the passing).
She grew up with a twin sister, an older brother and a sister, with the four children raised in Penarth, a small seaside town in Wales, United Kingdom (UK).įurnivall's mother's own childhood was spent in Russia, China and India, and it was her mother who inspired Furnivall to write. Early life įurnivall was born to an English father and White Russian mother. Kate Furnivall is a British historical novelist who is well known for the debut novel, The Russian Concubine. Kate Furnivall was raised in Penarth, a small seaside town in Wales.
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