The Porcelain Moon

A Novel of France, the Great War, and Forbidden Love

By: Janie Chang

Narrated by: Katharine Chin, Saskia Maarleveld, James Chen

From the critically acclaimed author of The Library of Legends comes a vividly rendered novel set in WWI France about two young women—one Chinese, one French—whose lives intersect with unexpected, potentially dangerous consequences.

“East meets West in World War I France. In The Porcelain Moon, Janie Chang exhibits her signature trademarks—lyrical prose, deftly drawn characters, and skillful excavation of little-known history—to give us a rare jewel in a sea of wartime fiction!”

— Kate Quinn, New York Times bestselling author

France, 1918. In the final days of the First World War, a young Chinese woman, Pauline Deng, runs away from her uncle’s home in Paris to evade a marriage being arranged for her in Shanghai. To prevent the union, she needs the help of her cousin Theo, who is working as a translator for the Chinese Labour Corps in the French countryside. In the town of Noyelles-sur-Mer, Camille Roussel is planning her escape from an abusive marriage, and to end a love affair that can no longer continue. When Camille offers Pauline a room for her stay, the two women become friends. But it’s not long before Pauline uncovers a perilous secret that Camille has been hiding from her. As their dangerous situation escalates, the two women are forced to make a terrible decision that will bind them together for the rest of their lives.

Set against the little-known history of the 140,000 Chinese workers brought to Europe as non-combatant labor during WWI, The Porcelain Moon is a tale of forbidden love, identity and belonging, and what we are willing to risk for freedom.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Very Well Written

"The Porcelain Moon" is a very well written.book. It thoroughly kept my interest. The characters are well developed. The story is about a time I knew nothing about so the story and eoilogue were educational. As narrators go, these narrators are great. Don't pass this one up.

Very enthralling story

I loved it. Have always been a big fan of historical fiction that is based on actual events. Learned much about the forgotten (dismissed) involvement of the Chinese during WWI while wrapped in a story of characters that you care about. I will be reading more stories from this author.

The characters wonderful

The readers were excellent and the characters were so real. Thd author did a wonderful job of describing the settings.

A true gem! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of the best things about historical fiction is that it humanizes as much as it highlights suppressed historical events, and this book delivered that in spades!!

I had absolutely no idea about the role of the Chinese and citizens of other colonial nations in WWI. This was truly eye opening, and something I look forward to learning more about.

The writing was beautiful too. I’ll be reading more of Janie Chang’s books. What a gem! 💕

A Niche Story of WWI

This was a fascinating read for me because of the little-known Chinese workers working for both England and France during the First World War—their contributions and their subsequent treatment post-war. But the surrounding story was nicely shaped and the characters were well-developed. A highly recommended read for me in historical fiction.