Memoirs of a Courtesan

Memoirs of a Courtesan
Mingmei Yip

Did you love Memoirs of a Geisha? Want to be swept away by an epic tale of intrigue, forbidden love and deadly rivalries?A poor orphan girl is saved by a rich man and brought Shanghai.She becomes a beautiful and sophisticated singer, the talk of the town, wanted by every man.But her destiny is not to be so simple – lies, seduction and a terrible choice must follow…For fans of Anchee Min and Memoirs of a Geisha, this is a gripping story that will seduce and enchant you.

Memoirs of a Courtesan

Mingmei Yip

Copyright (#ulink_55c75545-2746-5d54-aa48-1159616db104)

Avon

HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

77–85 Fulham Palace Road

Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2014

Copyright © Mingmei Yip 2012

Cover images ©Shutterstock 2014

Mingmei Yip asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780007570140

Ebook Edition © October 2014 ISBN: 9780007570157

Version: 2014-09-23

Dedication (#ulink_3e421dba-6386-5330-89f2-bdb7a26cb193)

To Geoffrey, who makes the whole world beautiful

Never give up working to defeat your enemy. Master his fate. Exploit his unpreparedness and attack him when he is unaware.

—Art of War, Sunzi (ca. 544–496 BC)

Stir the water to catch the fish – benefit by creating chaos

—Thirty-Six Stratagems, collection of popular ancient Chinese proverbs on outwitting your enemies. First mentioned in Southern Qi dynasties (AD 847–537)

So long as my body is still here, so will be my love for you.

—Li Shangyin (ca AD 813–858), Tang dynasty poet

Contents

Cover (#u8567aa27-ba84-5aea-9bce-b69dfa1d9bd9)

Title Page (#u4ecdd741-77b9-5856-8b31-d02f4f758f74)

Copyright (#ud9e8b8a8-e2a1-5efc-a62f-afd4bcadead1)

Dedication (#ud68eaf19-65a0-5b43-9718-0cebeb233759)

Epigraph (#ucd29cf79-a644-5a1a-b1d5-7e514bd2b147)

Part One (#u79a9748f-2cc7-50f9-abeb-d7a7f1a8aa36)

Prologue (#u5b69aed1-4f1f-5512-bc3f-0cca37466c46)

1. The Naked Girl Jumping Towards Eternity (#u4ec3d3a3-1130-5462-93a3-9e556b19d842)

2. Bright Moon Nightclub (#u5d9c249f-e04d-5166-a73d-9d61271f2f79)

3. Madame Lewinsky (#u8c9247be-d7c9-5dca-b4fb-9e7c5dba2b1c)

4. The Red Shoes (#ue1eed4b0-1762-5eee-bf07-25352aea3dbc)

5. The Young Master (#u641e64cd-ab12-5888-b339-c28b495f46ed)

Part Two (#uefa755bd-8d4c-5dce-b89d-0378620e6327)

6. Life Between the Two Gangs (#u5d803af3-a9e6-5f54-b288-aea3838ebeb2)

7. Temple Celebration (#udb11ee98-5d40-5fb4-a777-eded256e82ec)

8. The Lion Dancers (#u81567784-5b2a-5ff7-b01d-9a74416d2c9c)

9. Hospital Visit (#litres_trial_promo)

10. Manchurian Han Banquet and a Private Magic Show (#litres_trial_promo)

11. The Bund and the Amusement Park (#litres_trial_promo)

12. The Castle (#litres_trial_promo)

13. An Invitation to a Private Show (#litres_trial_promo)