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Goldsboro Books

9780007286195

The Piano Teacher

The Piano Teacher

by Janice Y.K. Lee

Publisher Harper Press

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Regular price £100.00
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About the book

Ambitious, exotic, and a classic book club read, 'The Piano Teacher' is a combination of 'Tenko' meets 'The Remains of the Day'.

Sometimes the end of a love affair is only the beginning...

In 1942, Will Truesdale, an Englishman newly arrived in Hong Kong, falls headlong into a passionate relationship with Trudy Liang, a beautiful Eurasian socialite.

But their love affair is soon threatened by the invasion of the Japanese, with terrible consequences for both of them, and for members of their fragile community who will betray each other in the darkest days of the war.

Ten years later, Claire Pendleton lands in Hong Kong and is hired by the wealthy Chen family as their daughter's piano teacher.

A provincial English newlywed, Claire is seduced by the colony's heady social life.

She soon begins an affair, only to discover that her lover's enigmatic demeanour hides a devastating past.

As the threads of this compelling and engrossing novel intertwine and converge, a landscape of impossible choices emerges -- between love and safety, courage and survival, the present and above all, the past.

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About the Author

Janice Y.K. Lee

Janice Y.K. Lee is a Hong Kong-born American author, known for her best-selling debut novel The Piano Teacher.


Lee initially wrote The Piano Teacher as a short story and decided to expand the story into a novel length work. Once published, The Piano Teacher, published in November 2009, was on the New York Times Bestseller list for 19 weeks and was translated into 26 languages worldwide. The novel tells a sweeping tale of love and betrayal, set in Hong Kong during and after WW2.


In July 2015 Lee announced that her follow-up novel would be titled The Expatriates and follow three American ex-pats living in Hong Kong.


Both of Lee's novels have been published to critical acclaim. The New York Times Book Review called Lee "[a] female, funny Henry James in Asia," and the San Francisco Chronicle praised her "talent for infusing much-needed moments of reflection into what could otherwise devolve into maudlin melodrama".

  • Professionally Packed

    All of our books that have a dust wrapper are covered in clear protective, removable film and are packed professionally in bubble wrap and a box for shipping so that they reach you in perfect condition.

  • Book Condition & Notes

    Fine first edition, in a very good slipcase. Some marks and wear visible to the slipcase. This book is located in our Brighton store, and may take longer for delivery.

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