The Fourth Princess is the fourth Janie Chang novel I’ve read and while I liked this one quite a bit, my favorite of hers is still The Porcelain Moon from 2023. Just like she does in her most recent few novels, Chang takes a little known aspect of Chinese history and presents a compelling, captivating story involving multiple female protagonists, usually one being Chinese and the other not. For me, this sets up an interesting “East meets West” dynamic where, due to the story being told through two diametrically different perspectives, provides a more nuanced lens through which we can better understand the historical and cultural elements that Chang usually incorporates in her novels. In this instance, the two protagonists are Liu Lisan, an educated Chinese woman with a mysterious past, and wealthy American heiress Caroline Stanton, who lives with her millionaire husband Thomas at Lennox Manor, a once-grand mansion on an isolated stretch of land in the International Settlement area of 1911 Shanghai. The paths of these two women cross when Caroline hires Lisan as her secretary to help her navigate the cultural and language differences as she settles into her new life in China. But soon, both women find themselves caught up in the mysteries of their pasts, which come back to haunt them in unexpected ways. Heightening the sense of unease for both women are the dark secrets held by the Manor itself, with its outward grandeur masking a crumbling and dilapidated façade where the ghostly presence of its previous occupants continues to linger. As various secrets come to light and the pasts of both women are slowly unraveled, connections are revealed that not only put both women in danger, but also threaten to upend their lives.
In her Author’s Note, Chang mentions her love of the gothic genre as inspiration for deciding to write a gothic novel of her own, but also one that blends historical elements and aspects of her own Chinese cultural heritage. As such, in a departure from her previous novels, Chang had to hold back on the “history” aspect and instead lean more into “atmosphere” in order to bring out the “gothic” effect of the story. In this regard, I feel that Chang succeeded, as she did a good job overall incorporating the gothic trope of the mysterious and haunted old mansion, making Lennox Manor a “character” in itself. With that said however, having read my fair share of gothic novels in the past (and having studied the genre recently), I couldn’t help feeling that some of the gothic elements here were a bit too heavy-handed and deliberate to the point that some of the descriptions – especially related to the Manor and what the characters experience there -- felt a little out of place in a few spots. While this did have the effect of ratcheting up the tension, it also came across a bit forced and unnatural. Also, on a personal level, I would’ve preferred more focus on Lisan’s story line, as I found her backstory more intriguing, but that could be because I’m more of a fan of the historical than the gothic (though given the novel’s title, I have to admit to being a little surprised that Caroline’s story arc seemed to overshadow Lisan’s somewhat).
Minor flaws aside, I definitely enjoyed this one. Having read Chang’s last four novels, I feel that her writing and storytelling skills continue to get better and better with each book -- though of course, I still prefer her historical novels because I love the way she brings lesser known Chinese history and culture to light. I can’t wait to see what Chang has in store for us next!
Received ARC from William Morrow via NetGalley.
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