Rebel Girl

From Susan Geason comes a thrilling story of friendship and survival set in nineteenth-century China, a time of slavery, war and hardship.

Su-Yin is only thirteen when she is sold into slavery. Transported up the mighty Yangtze River, she settles into life as a kitchen hand in the household of a wealthy and high-ranking official of the Emperor.

But Su-Yin's life is turned upside down when her new home is attacked by a formidable army of Taiping soldiers. When she and the family's young daughter escape, it is up to Su-Yin to concel the child's identity - at the risk of her own life.

As to how Susan came to write this book, she says "The history of China is fascinating, but we in Australia know little about it. The news that Chinese children are being kidnapped or sold to work as slaves in brick kins in the 21st century shocks us, but we would not be so surprised if we knew that destitute Chinese parents have been selling their children for hundreds of years. Su-Yin, my heroine in Rebel Girl, is one of these children. Although she is fortunate enough to be sold into a family that teaches her a trade and treats her well, she is in the wrong place at the wrong time. When the troops of the Taiping rebllion invaded Nanjing in 1851 to turn it into their captial, her life is turned upside down. But many ordinary people managed to survive a rebellion that took the lives of as least 20 million Chinese, and Su-Yin is one of them."

"I chose the Taiping rebellion as a backdrop not only because it is bizarre - it was led by a failed scholar who thought he was the son of the Christian God - but also because it set the scene for the Communist revolution of the twentieth century, which is still playing itself out."

About Susan Geason
Susan Geason is the author of the series of cult novels about PI Syd Fish. She has also written a number of highly successful books for teenagers, including 'Great Australian Gir's' and her new historical fiction series, which began with 'Death of a Princess' which has sold to the US. An expert in history and politics, she has worked as a freelance writer and editor. Susan lives in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Rebel Girl
ABC Books
Author: Susan Geason
ISBN: 9780733321733
RRP: $14.95