About the Book

This remarkable novel tells the moving story of Han, aged four and the youngest daughter of an impoverished family. Sold as a slave into the House of Wu, she quickly forms a close bond with the young heir, but the idyll of childhood attachment quickly turns into a nightmare of frustrated passion as Han reaches her teens—beautiful, proud and in love with the young master. Her life becomes a struggle against the forces of tradition and tyranny in a world where lustful male relatives use bondmaids for indiscriminate pleasure, visiting monks devise ingenious schemes to combine holy public duty with unbridled private indulgences, and gods and goddesses with careless insouciance, smile to see the human drama unfold.

Catherine Lim, Singapore’s top novelist, decided to take the risk of self-publishing this extraordinary book rather than bow to her publisher’s demands to dilute the controversial and heady story of a young girl sold into slavery in contemporary Singapore. Her gamble paid off—The Bondmaid struck a dazzling chord with readers and became a number-one bestseller in six countries. At once a power study of domestic and sexual slavery and a deeply disturbing and radiantly uplifting story, the Bondmaid captures the special ethos of a wealthy and powerful Chinese household in an era of beauty and brutality and chronicles one love—right to its astonishing climax.

About the Author

Frequently referred to as the doyenne of Singapore’s literary circles, Catherine Lim is internationally recognised as one of the leading figures in the world of Asian fiction. The prolific Lim has penned more than 19 books across various genres — short stories, novels, reflective prose, poems and satirical pieces. Lim has won several national and regional book prizes for her literary contributions and was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate of Literature by Murdoch University, Australia and a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French Ministry of Culture and Information. Many of Lim’s works are studied in local and foreign schools and universities and have been published in various languages in several countries. Besides writing, Lim guest lectures at local and international seminars, conferences, arts/writing festivals and cruise ships worldwide. She has also appeared on radio and television programmes in Singapore, Europe and Australia.

Other titles by Catherine Lim:

Miss Seetoh in the World

The Catherine Lim Collection

The Song of Silver Frond

The Teardrop Story Woman