skip to product information
1 of 1

gentle books » Non Fiction

Anna May Wong: From Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend, Graham Russell

Anna May Wong: From Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend, Graham Russell

2012

regular price HK$50.00
regular price sale price HK$50.00
sale sold

paperback | used, good

Anna May Wong was perhaps the best known Chinese American actress during Hollywood's golden age, a free spirit and embodiment of the flapper era much like Louise Brooks. She starred in over fifty movies between 1919 and 1960, sharing the screen with such luminaries as Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Marlene Dietrich. . Born in Los Angeles in 1905, Wong was the second daughter of six children born to a laundryman and his wife. Obsessed with film at a young age, she managed to secure a small part in a 1919 drama about the Boxer Rebellion. Her most famous film roles were in The Thief of Baghdad, Old San Francisco, and Shanghai Express opposite Dietrich. Despite these successes, instances of overt racism plagued Wong's career. When it came time to make a film version of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth, she was passed over for the Austrian-born actress, Luise Rainer. In a narrative that recalls both the gritty life in Los Angeles's working-class Chinese neighborhoods and the glamour of Hollywood at its peak, Graham Hodges recounts the life of this elegant, beautiful, and underappreciated screen legend.

about delivery & pick-up

we offer the following delivery options:

  • domestic shipping
  • SF Express pay-by-receiver, and
  • local pick-up.

pick-up options are limited to book orders at the moment. if you select local pick-up (books only) at checkout, you can pick up your books at our next event! we'll be in touch to confirm your pick-up details.

view full details

about gentle books

gentle books hopes to build a circular book economy and nurture the community of readers here in Hong Kong.

a women-led business founded by book-lovers, the brand believes that books don’t belong in landfill - books deserve to be read! gentle books is a social enterprise that commits 20% of its profits to literacy and education-based NGOs. 

follow us on ig