Weina Dai Randel

OK
About Weina Dai Randel
Weina Dai Randel is the Wall Street Journal bestselling, award-winning author of four novels, Night Angels, The Last Rose of Shanghai, The Moon in the Palace and The Empress of Bright Moon, a historical duology about Wu Zetian. Weina is the winner of the RWA RITA® Award, a National Jewish Book Awards finalist, and a two-time Goodreads Choice Award Best Historical Fiction nominee. Weina is also the recipient of the Mass Cultural Council's art grant in 2023. Her books have been translated into thirteen languages.
Born in China, Weina came to the United States at twenty-four, when she switched to English and began to speak, write and dream in her second language. She holds an MA in English from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, Texas. She has worked as the subject-matter expert for Southern New Hampshire University’s MFA program and as an adjunct professor. Interviews with Weina have appeared on WFAA’s Good Morning Texas and in such publications as World Literature Today, Texas Jewish Post, The Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Los Angeles Review of Books, and RT Book Reviews. After living in Texas for years, Weina now resides in Massachusetts with her family.
Customers Also Bought Items By
Author updates
Books By Weina Dai Randel
National Jewish Book Awards Finalist
Goodreads Choice Awards Best Historical Fiction Nominee
"Weina Dai Randel's poignant, sweeping love story paints a vibrant portrait of a little-known slice of World War II history. Not to be missed!" ―Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author of The Rose Code and The Huntress
"A powerful story of the relationship between a Shanghai heiress and a Jewish refugee...one readers will never forget." ―Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman with the Blue Star
"A must-read for historical fiction lovers. Filled with page-turning suspense and a poignant and unforgettable love story, Weina Dai Randel wholly immerses the reader in this richly detailed and powerfully drawn story." ―Chanel Cleeton, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, two people from different cultures are drawn together by fate and the freedom of music...
1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi's club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soon they realize they share more than a passion for jazz—but their differences seem insurmountable, and Aiyi is engaged to another man.
As the war escalates, Aiyi and Ernest find themselves torn apart, and their choices between love and survival grow more desperate. In the face of overwhelming odds, a chain of events is set in motion that will change both their lives forever.
From the electrifying jazz clubs to the impoverished streets of a city under siege, The Last Rose of Shanghai is a timeless, sweeping story of love and redemption.
From the author of The Last Rose of Shanghai comes a profoundly moving novel about a diplomatic couple who risked their lives to help Viennese Jews escape the Nazis, inspired by the true story of Dr. Ho Fengshan, Righteous Among the Nations.
1938. Dr. Ho Fengshan, consul general of China, is posted in Vienna with his American wife, Grace. Shy and ill at ease with the societal obligations of diplomats’ wives, Grace is an outsider in a city beginning to feel the sweep of the Nazi dragnet. When Grace forms a friendship with her Jewish tutor, Lola Schnitzler, Dr. Ho requests that Grace keep her distance. His instructions are to maintain amicable relations with the Third Reich, and he and Grace are already under their vigilant eye.
But when Lola’s family is subjugated to a brutal pogrom, Dr. Ho decides to issue them visas to Shanghai. As violence against the Jews escalates after Kristallnacht and threats mount, Dr. Ho must issue thousands more to help Jews escape Vienna before World War II explodes.
Inspired by a remarkable true story, Night Angels explores the risks brave souls took and the love and friendship they built and lost while fighting against incalculable evil.
"A full immersion, compulsively readable tale." -- Booklist, Starred Review
"One of the most beautifully written... historical fiction novels released this year." -- BookReporter
"A must-read for fans of historical fiction set in ancient China." -- Library Journal, Starred Review
The time for taking hold of her destiny is now
At the moment of the Emperor's death, everything changes in the palace. Mei, his former concubine, is free, and Pheasant, the heir and Mei's lover, is proclaimed as the new Emperor, heralding a new era in China. But just when Mei believes she's closer to her dream, Pheasant's chief wife, Lady Wang, powerful and unpredictable, turns against Mei and takes unthinkable measures to stop her. The power struggle that ensues will determine Mei's fateand that of China.
Surrounded by enemies within the palace that she calls home, Mei continues her journey to the throne in The Empress of Bright Moon, the second book in Weina Dai Randel's acclaimed duology. Only by fighting back against those who wish her harm will Mei be able to realize her destiny as the most powerful woman in China.
Winner of RWA RITA® Award 2017
Goodreads Choice Awards "Best Historical Fiction" semi-finalist 2016"
RT Book Reviewers Choice "Best First Historical" nominee
Recommended by Texas Library Association's 2017 Lariat Reading List
One of the Biggest Historical Fiction books of 2016 by Bookbub
"I absolutely loved The Moon in the Palace... A rare and beautiful treasure." -- Elizabeth Chadwick, NYT bestselling author
There is no easy path for a woman aspiring to power
A concubine at the palace learns quickly that there are many ways to capture the Emperor's attention. Many paint their faces white and style their hair attractively, hoping to lure in the One Above All with their beauty. Some present him with fantastic gifts, such as jade pendants and scrolls of calligraphy, while others rely on their knowledge of seduction to draw his interest. Young Mei knows nothing of these womanly arts, yet she will give the Emperor a gift he can never forget.
Mei's intelligence and curiosity, the same traits that make her an outcast among the other concubines, impress the Emperor. But just as she is in a position to seduce the most powerful man in China, divided loyalties split the palace in two, culminating in a perilous battle that Mei can only hope to survive.
In the breakthrough first volume in the Empress of Bright Moon duology, Weina Dai Randel paints a vibrant portrait of ancient China--where love, ambition, and loyalty can spell life or death--and the woman who came to rule it all.
La historia de la primera y única mujer emperatriz de China que gobernó en su propio nombre.
Para una mujer, el camino hacia el poder nunca es sencillo.
Año 631, quinto año de la dinastía Tang. Mei vive con su familia cuando su felicidad se ve completamente destruida y ella acaba en las dependencias del palacio imperial formando parte del ejército de concubinas.
Ahí aprenderá que en palacio hay muchos caminos para atrapar la atención del emperador. Algunas maquillan sus caras de blanco y se peinan con cuidado, con la esperanza de fascinarle con su belleza. Otras se presentan con fantásticos regalos, como colgantes de jade o rollos de caligrafía.
Pero la joven e inteligente Mei será la única que conseguirá impresionar al emperador con las mismas cualidades que hacen de ella un personaje marginado entre las otras concubinas...
Y así comienza a destacar la primera y única mujer que llegó a ser emperatriz en la antigua China.
La crítica ha dicho...
«Un impresionante relato de intrigas cortesanas letales, seductora y fascinante. Es la historia del ascenso de una mujer al poder, pero también de las relaciones entre las mujeres de palacio. Los lectores se sentirán transportados a otro mundo.»
RT Book Reviews, Top Pick
«Una novela que retrata el espíritu agudo y persistente de la emperatriz Wu, sin dejar de presentar su lado vulnerable. Las intrigas y mauqinaciones de la corte imperial cobran vida, una maquinaria, grande y peligrosa, en la que cada pieza se mueve por sus propias razones.»
Shelf Awareness, STARRED Review
«Una novela que captura con granbelleza los sonidos, aromas y conflictos socials de la China del siglo VII.»
Historical Novels Review, Editor's Choice
«Lírica e intrigante.»
Kirkus Reviews
«Una novela rica en detalles. Mei es aventurera, inteligente, trabajadora e intrépida.»
The Dallas Morning News
«Randelmuestra la política cortesana a través de los ojos de una mujer. Mágica.»
Washington Independent Review of Books
«Me encantó The Moon in the Palace... Un tesoro único.»
Elizabeth Chadwick, NYT bestselling author
En esta continuación de El palacio de la luna Mei deberá luchar por el poder desde dentro de palacio y se verá obligada incluso a arriesgar su vida por convertirse en la única mujer que ha gobernado China.
Cuando el amante de Mei es coronado emperador, la lucha por el poder estalla entre ella y la emperatriz Wang. Ambas están desesperadas por conservar su nombre y su posición.
Cuando la emperatriz decide asesinar a los seguidores de Mei, la lucha entre ambas alcanza nuevas cotas: Mei se da cuenta de que debe vencer a la delirante emperatriz no solo para salvarse a sí misma, sino para proteger su país.