From the author ofย Three Soulsย andย Dragon Springs Roadย comes a captivating historical novelโthe third in a loosely-connected trilogyโin which a young woman travels acrossย China with a convoy of student refugees, fleeing the hostilities of a brutalย war with Japan.
โMyths are the darkest and brightest incarnations of who we areโฆโ
China, 1937: When Japanese bombs begin falling on the city of Nanking, nineteen-year-old Hu Lian and her classmates at Minghua University are ordered to flee. Lian and a convoy of more than a hundred students, faculty, and staff must walk a thousand miles to the safety of Chinaโs western provinces, a journey marred by hunger, cold, and the constant threat of aerial attack. And it is not just the student refugees who are at risk: Lian and her classmates have been entrusted with a priceless treasure, a 500-year-old collection of myths and folklore known as the Library of Legends.
Her familyโs past has made Lian wary of forming attachments, but the studentsโ common duty to safeguard the Library of Legends forms unexpected bonds. Lian finds friendship and a cautious romance with the handsome and wealthy Liu Shaoming. But after one classmate is murdered and another arrested, Lian realizes she must escape from the convoy before a family secret puts her in danger. Accompanied by Shao and the enigmatic maidservant Sparrow, Lian makes her way to Shanghai, hoping to reunite with her mother.
On the journey, Lian learns of the connection between her two companions and a tale from the Library of Legends, The Willow Star and the Prince. Learning Shao and Sparrowโs true identities compels Lian to confront her feelings for Shao. But there are broader consequences too, for as the ancient books travel across China, they awaken immortals and guardian spirits to embark on an exodus of their own, one that changes the countryโs fate forever.
Based on true events, rich in Chinese history and lore, The Library of Legends is both an illuminating exploration of Chinaโs recent past and an evocative tale of love, sacrifice, and the extraordinary power of storytelling.
Janie Chang is the Globe and Mail bestselling author of historical fiction. Born in Taiwan,ย Janie Changย has lived in the Philippines, Iran, Thailand, New Zealand, and Canada. Her novels often draw from family history and ancestral stories. She has a degree in computer science and is a graduate of the Writerโs Studio Program at Simon Fraser University. She is the author ofย Three Souls,ย Dragon Springsย Road, The Library of Legends, The Porcelain Moon;and co-author of The Phoenix Crown, with Kate Quinn.