Ready Reference Treatise: Chinese Cinderella

By Raja Sharma

“Chinese Cinderella” by Adeline Yen Mah was first published in 1999. The book is subtitled “The Secret Story of an Unwanted Daughter.”

The author is a Chinese-American physician. In this book the author describes her own experiences while growing up in China during the Second World War.

She had published her autobiography in 1997. “Chinese Cinderella” is a revised version of part of that autobiography. The autobiography was titled “Falling Leaves.”

The author’s mother had passed away two weeks after the author’s birth. Consequently, her family began to consider that she was bad luck.

Joseph Yen, the father of the author, remarried a woman who treated Adeline and her sibling very cruelly. She treated their half-brother and half-sister very kindly and spoiled them.

Ready Reference Treatise: Chinese Cinderella
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: May 27, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311117762

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

Book preview

Ready Reference Treatise: Chinese Cinderella

Copyright

Ready Reference Treatise: Chinese Cinderella

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

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Chapter One: Introduction

Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah was first published in 1999. The book is subtitled The Secret Story of an Unwanted Daughter.

The author is a Chinese-American physician. In this book the author describes her own experiences while growing up in China during the Second World War.

She had published her biography in 1997. Chinese Cinderella is a revised version of part of that autobiography. The autobiography was titled Falling Leaves.

The author’s mother had passed away two weeks after the author’s birth. Consequently, her family began to consider that she was bad luck.

Joseph Yen, the father of the author, remarried a woman who treated Adeline and her sibling very cruelly. She treated their half-brother and half-sister very kindly and spoiled them.

Besides providing the glimpses of the author’s own life experiences, the book Chinese Cinderella presents a vivid picture of the cultural amalgamation in the early 20th century China.

The novel was taken very positively by both reviewers and common readers. It was considered to be a highly inspiring story of hope and perseverance.

The author presents very detailed descriptions of several misfortunes. At the same time there is the description of the positive opportunities which appear if one is persistent and hard-working.

The book is often discussed among various literary circles and academic institutions. It has also been included in the curriculum of several schools and colleges.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

Adeline is thought to be bad luck by her family because her mother died only after two weeks of Adeline’s birth. They consider that she is the cause of her mother’s death. She is often neglected and throughout her early childhood she is not paid attention to.

Chinese Cinderella is the author’s struggle for acceptance. It also describes how she enables herself to overcome the difficulties to prove that she is also a worthy human being.

She was born to a very rich Chinese family. She was the fifth child. However, her life begins very tragically. In the Chinese culture if a mother dies shortly after giving birth to a child, the child is regarded as bad luck.

Her father remarries. Jeanne Prosperi, referred as ‘Niang,"