Spanning five decades of Chinese history, Wives Of The East Wind is an epic tale of friendships, love, and idealism betrayed. Two couples—Wenya and Zhiying, Zhenzhen and Laoyin—meet, marry and become inseparable just as China is shaking off the memory of war, and the brightest of its youth are pledging themselves to building a vibrant new future. Yet for all that their lives embody the ideals of the young republic, they are spared none of the suffering and hardship that are to follow, through years of famine and the terror of the Cultural Revolution. It is the two women who form the most powerful bond, and Wenya’s loyalty and Zhenzhen’s spirit sustain them both through their darkest hours. And as a new, more affluent China dawns and the struggle for survival gives way to an equally fierce battle to protect the values closest to their hearts, Zhenzhen teaches Wenya an unforgettable lesson about courage.

Liu Hong was born in 1965 and grew up in the north-eastern province of Liaoning, near the Chinese-North Korean border. She studied English language and literature, before going to Beijing to work as an English teacher and translator. She came to Britain on an academic scholarship in 1989, and took an MA in social anthropology at Oxford. Since then she has worked as a Chinese teacher and as a translator. Liu Hong now lives in Wiltshire with her husband and their young family.