Dreams of the Red Phoenix

Virginia Pye holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and has taught writing at the University of Pennsylvania and New York University. Her highly acclaimed first novel, River of Dust, is also a historical novel set in China. Her father, Lucian W. Pye, was born and raised in China and became an eminent political scientist and sinologist. Her grandfather, Watts O. Pye, was a founder of the Oberlin College-Shansi Program which took him and his wife, Gertrude, to China as the first returning missionaries after the Boxer Rebellion of 1900. Her grandmother stayed in China after the death of her husband and fled with her son--Virginia's father--on the last ship out of China to the U.S. following Pearl Harbor. Pye currently divides her time between Richmond, VA, and Boston, MA.

"With cunning plot twists -- and especially an early one that leaves the reader amazed at her audacity -- Pye raises the ante while giving equal attention to creating well-drawn characters ... And as if that's not enough to grip the reader, her seamless and evocative prose enhances her story ... A tale of idealism and courage, deceit and treachery, "Dreams of the Red Phoenix" blends religion, family, geopolitics and history into a hearty, heartwarming and heart-rending feast of fact-based fiction, one inspired by Pye's imagination and rendered with care and love."--The Richmond Times-Dispatch "There's a comparison to Ballard's Empire of the Sun, but this unflinching look at a brutal era in a faraway place shares truth in its own way." --Kirkus "Gripping, convincing, and heartbreaking, Dreams of the Red Phoenix is powerfully evocative of the complexities of life in 1930's China. A real page-turner and thought-provoker -- wonderful." --Gish Jen