Zhu journeys from life as a peasant girl to war and the heights of power. This is a traditional Chinese tale reimagined in a subversive new way, for fans of The Song of Achilles and Across the Nightingale Floor.

The Number One Sunday Times Bestseller

An immersive, historical fantasy set in 14th-century China, She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan is a queer tale of love, loss, betrayal and triumph.

'Magnificent in every way' – Samantha Shannon, author of The Priory of the Orange Tree

In a famine-stricken village on a dusty plain, a seer shows two children their fates. For a family’s eighth-born son, there’s greatness. For the second daughter, nothing.

In 1345, China lies restless under harsh Mongol rule. And when a bandit raid wipes out their home, the two children must somehow survive. Zhu Chongba despairs and gives in. But the girl resolves to overcome her destiny. So she takes on her dead brother’s identity – and begins her journey.

Can Zhu escape what is written in the stars, as rebellion sweeps the land? Can she claim her brother’s greatness – and rise, ruthlessly, to take the dragon throne?

This is a glorious tale from a powerful new voice.

She Who Became the Sun is a reimagining of the rise to power of Zhu Yuanzhang. Zhu was the real-life peasant rebel who expelled the Mongols, unified China under native rule, and became the founding Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

‘Epic, tragic and gorgeous’ – Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January