THE BUTCHER'S WIFE

Paperback. A novel based on a true case. Tr. from the Chinese by Howard Goldblatt and Ellen Yeung. In traditional Chinese society, any woman who kills her husband is presumed to have done so for adulterous purposes. In 1930s Shanghai a case came to light where a woman dismembered her husband. There was no evidence that the woman had ever had a lover. This inspired the author to write a deep and harrowing novel that challenged this demeaning attitude toward the moral character of women that has been held by Chinese for thousands of years: any woman guilty of killing her husband is a promiscuous woman and no other interpretation is possible. At time of publication in Taiwan in 1983, the book aroused controversy because of its vivid portrayal of sexual violence and emotional cruelty. 142pp. p/back. From the library of true crime writer, Wilfred Gregg, with his personal b/plate. F. with no creasing to covers.