The Russian Concubine is a 2007 novel by Kate Furnivall. The book is loosely based on the story of Furnivall's mother Lily, who was a Russian refugee. Set in Russia and China, it is a love story between Lydia Ivanova and Chang An Lo and is followed by a sequel The Concubine's Secret and a prequel The Jewel of St Petersburg, which is about Lydia's parents Valentina and Jens. Plot The story begins in 1917 when a five-year-old Lydia Ivanova Friis and her Russian mother Valentina Ivanova escape from Russia during the Bolshevik Revolution after her Danish father Jens Friis was arrested by the police, they are later reunited fleeing the Bolsheviks, where it is then believed that Jens was killed at their hands. Eleven years later in 1928, Junchow, China, Lydia is sixteen and works as a thief with the help of Mr Liu, a pawnbroker, to support her mother. During one of Lydia's escapades where she finds herself in trouble, she is saved by a Chinese teenager named Chang An Lo. An Lo is a freedom fighter and a Communist rebel. He eventually becomes romantically involved with Lydia after she saves his life when he defends her honour. They begin to face trouble when Lydia is kidnapped and tortured by a member of the Black Snakes, who happens to hold a grudge against Chang An Lo. She is later rescued by Alexei Serov, who happens to be her half-brother. Characters Lydia Ivanova Friis: A 16-year-old red-headed girl who was born to a Danish father and Russian mother who was exiled from Russia. At age of 5 her father Jens was captured by Russians and taken away, causing her mother Valentina to become an alcoholic. Lydia supports her mother by stealing from people. She also studies at the Willoughby Academy. She has a pet rabbit named after Sun Yat Sen, a gift from an admirer of her mother's. She discovers that Alexei is her half-brother after her mother's death and is rescued from the Black Snakes. Lydia and her half-brother go to Russia to find their father Chang An Lo: A 19-year-old English-educated Chinese youth who is a kung fu master. He saves Lydia twice. Orphaned at a young age, he was raised by an uncle after his family were executed by the Chinese and was taught English by an American after his uncle died. He considers Lydia to