Thank you Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this advanced copy of Katie Gee Salisbury’s incredible and detailed biography of the life and times of Anna May Wong. I am glad that this book is out since it seems like Anna May Wong is only recently getting her props as a trailblazing film star who spanned across various media and eras on the stage and screen. Gee Salisbury’s book follows Anna May Wong’s life, mainly focusing on her time from the silent era, to seeking work in Europe, learning German and mastering a British accent, to gain more performance opportunities in Germany and England. Although these experiences show Wong’s dedication to her art as a performer (acting, singing and dancing), it also reflects on the lack of opportunities for performers of color. As Gee Salisbury points out throughout the book, due to the Hays Code’s ridiculous restrictions against miscegenation, Wong was never able to play a leading lady in America. Furthermore, films she made in Germany and England were often censored, and most times, she ended up playing a tragic figure who often died or sacrificed herself for a white character. Although she initially parlayed her Chinese heritage to gain roles in exotic Douglas Fairbank’s films, this also limited her opportunities to advance her career in a regimented studio system that catered primarily to white audiences. I found this to be one of the strengths of Gee Salisbury’s book, often hammering home the kind of implicit (and overt) racism that limited Wong’s career, and how Wong eventually turned down roles because she wanted to do more on the screen. I also found it interesting that Wong defined herself as an American girl, and many audiences were surprised (and a little disappointed) that she spoke excellent English with no accent. Gee Salisbury, borrowing from Anna May Wong’s personal correspondences, does a great job also bringing in the flapper and jazz age lingo that Wong used. However, it was also fascinating to learn that in Wong’s pursuit of other acting opportunities in Europe and China, she mastered other languages – German, British accented English, and Mandarin (her family’s language was Cantonese). Reading about the early studio system was also fascinating. Anna May Wong, despite not having major starring roles, was still widely known and attracted a lot of attention; reading about her experiences with other luminaries of the time was really interesting. I was surprised to learn that she became good friends with Carl Van Vechten, one of the benefactors of many of the writers and artists from the Harlem Renaissance. As the book moves through Wong’s life, we learn how dedicated she also was to her family and how this also led her to develop a growing interest in her Chinese heritage, spending time in pre-war China, specifically Shanghai. I loved reading about her experiences here as well, and how this eventually led her to dedicate herself to helping China’s fight against Japan during the war years. It was amazing to learn about her dedication and commitment to helping provide resources to and awareness of China’s plight during this time. Yet, it was also incredibly disheartening to learn about how the lack of opportunities and other seeming limitations in her life brought about poor health, excessive drinking, and her eventual death at a relatively early age. Gee Salisbury presents a comprehensive and well-researched view of an amazing woman who was a trailblazer in many different respects. The one issue I had with this book, however, was that the book gets a little too in depth with some of the topics that are relevant to Anna May Wong’s life. There is a section that goes into depth about Marlene Dietrich and her relationship with a director who also worked with Wong. I felt like this part of the book was getting too detailed about Dietrich, although I understand later since Dietrich and Wong worked together on a movie that is detailed in the following chapter. The other section is the development of the film The Good Earth based on the Pearl Buck novel. I also understand that Anna May Wong would have been perfect for the role of O-lan, the main character, but a white actress was chosen to play the lead role in “yellowface”, a sadly common practice at the time. Wong was offered other roles that were the tragic type that she ended up rejecting. The actress who played O-lan ended up winning an Oscar for this role, so the speculation is whether Anna May Wong could have become the first Asian American Oscar winner in the 1930s. There was a lot dedicated to this film in the book, and it kind of took my focus away from Wong’s life. I suppose it is challenging to give an understanding of the context and studio system, as well as the racism that Wong faced, without exploring the details of this film; however, I felt like there could have been less said about it. Nevertheless, I applaud Gee Salisbury’s extensive research in exploring the development and production of this film. I’m really glad that I read this book and learned more about Anna May Wong, who more people should know about, and who worked to create more opportunities for other Asian American actors.

Delighted to highlighted this excellent new biography in “Going for Gold,” a thematic round-up of new and notable Hollywood-related titles in the Books section of Zoomer magazine ahead of the Oscars. (see column and mini-review at link)

Anna May Wong is clearly having her moment with a novelization of her life story (The Brightest Star) and two major biographies (Daughter of the Dragon by Yunte Huang and this title) appearing within one year. I've had the fortune of reading both of the biographies, and they are certainly both worth your time. Not your China Doll is the more novelistic and warmer of the two accounts while Huang's account is a bit colder and academic and is as interested in contextual digressions (e.g. chinese laundries, Madame Chiang Kai-Shek, expat life in China) as it is in Wong's story. Salisbury's account mostly sticks with the protagonist, but has a major (and worthwhile) digression regarding MGM's production of The Good Earth, which is notable for not casting Anna May Wong.

It's pretty clear that the author intends this book as a celebration of the life of an extraordinary woman who for at least her first thirty-five years made the very best use of her talents and allure that a racist system could accommodate. For the most part she is successful, but the what-might-have-beens still creep through to the reader, causing us to wonder how much Wong and the film-going public missed out on. And unfortunately, the chronological nature of biography still causes this story to end on a downbeat as we see Anna May Wong's very sad booze-laden last twenty years or so till her death in 1961 just before she was supposed to be in the movie version of The Flower Drum Song.

If you are intrigued by Anna May Wong, you won't go wrong with this book. But you should probably see some of her movies as well to truly understand her allure (unfortunately her films are rarely as good as she is in them). I recommend Piccadilly, Shanghai Express and Pavement Butterfly.

Anna May Wong lived a fascinating life. I was glad to read how her life connected with the author's as well.

Some Thoughts about Not Your China Doll, The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong, by Katie Gee Salisbury


This book is the story of Anna May Wong, the renowned, forgotten, and renowned again, third generation native-born American. The quintessential LA girl [“fer shure”]. Hippest of the hipster flappers, who knew, in 1923, that a phrase like “the cat’s pajamas” was so “1922”. And something like “the kitten’s eyelashes” would be the new catch-phrase in superlatives.

Ms. Salisbury, well before announcement of publication of the book, started a series of articles in her Substack “Half Caste Woman” series of blogs. She continues to release new ones. They supplement the book. If you want to know whether to obtain the book, read the Substack articles. Take your pick.

That famous photograph of Dietrich, Riefenstahl, and Wong in Berlin in 1928. You know it. It didn’t happen.

At least not in 1928, as repeatedly recited by so many learned authorities. As Wong was won’t to say: “It just isn’t so.” So, when did it happen? Read the book. It happens to matter, for history. With a capital “H”.

Or, if you can’t wait for the definitive answer, go to the Substack blog to get your very thorough “sneak preview”, right now.

And that foolish little song that learned authorities “across the pond” assert, with rather unfounded vigor, was about nobody in particular. Maybe about the person who was represented as “Sally Bowles” in “Cabaret”? Anna May from an unquiet grave, repeats “It isn’t so.”

Ms. Salisbury presents a clear and convincing case that “These Foolish Things [Remind Me of You]” was lyricist Eric Maschwitz’s Ode to no-one but Wong. It’s not merely a historical answer. It is teasing out the meaning and significance of the words, as originally written, into history. With a capital “H”.

The song is one of the great standards of the 20th Century, one in which the lyrics are as significant as the melody and arrangement.

But you may say, “I know the words; it could be about anybody.” From that unquiet grave, Wong, through Katie, states: “You don’t know the words.”

Anna May punctuates the statement with that perfected upper-class Mayfair patois of hers used in her greatest films: ”Rather”.

If you want to know the words, pretty much exactly as written by Maschwitz during his long-distance affair with Wong, just listen to Pearl Bailey’s 1957 “long” version. Sexier, smarter, and full of details that point the way towards truth….Rather.

Wong may have been ethnically Chinese, but also, culturally, an “All-American Girl” at the birth of what became Hollywood. She was in the midst of that, as a child, as movie cameras were set up on the streets she walked on. Apparently well enough known by the film crews to be referred to as “C.C.C.”-“Curious Chinese Child”.

Our society’s greatest gift to her, and, perhaps, its greatest burden, was for her to be that girl, in that place, at that time.

Ms. Gee Salisbury’s book is crisp and clear. It’s scholarly in research, yet it is also a mass-market biography.

It corrects several repeated mistakes about Wong’s life. Mistakes so common as to be obdurate, perseverate. To the point of being…..disingenuous. Anna May Wong punctuates it: “Rather”. Long “a”.

Neat trick, that.

It moves forward with the speed and force of that train that barreled through China in Wong’s film, “The Shanghai Express”. Minus the mechanical breakdowns and hijackings that plagued that train. It’s the kind of book, well documented, certainly, that you can share with a relative or friend and say “this is why I am interested in Anna May Wong”. They can then understand and share your fascination, too.

Anna May had the peculiar talent, fortune, [or misfortune] to pop up in the middle of world events which outsized her significant film career.

In many, many ways, Wong was “in the room where it happened”.

That’s important. Not just in the life of Anna May Wong.

Likewise, Wong was the inspiration for many visual artists. Not merely the photographers who recorded her face and figure with such great care. That’s important, too.

There are a good number of photographs in the book, illustrating important aspects of her life. Unlike many other books touching on her life, Katie gets the photographs right. Perfectly.

And that, too, happens to be important.

Sadly, as of yet, I have seen no comprehensive “coffee table” book of her photographs and the other visual art she inspired. Katie’s book is not a “coffee table” book. It is fast-paced, but detailed and well-documented.

Wong had more than her share of tragedies. Many of them self-inflicted. Ms. Gee Salisbury does not shy away from any of them, nor serve as an apologist. They are treated directly, and in sufficient detail to understand Anna May Wong’s life, without blinders on.

The book’s title speaks to Anna May’s “wild and shimmering life”. Ms. Gee Salisbury’s book, and the articles she has previously written, [at least one lengthy one published in The New York Times] accurately portrays her as a “jet-setter before jets”. [My phrase, not Ms. Gee Salisbury’s on that.]

Anna May Wong was a world traveler, wanderer, and searcher. As one journalist predicted she would be in 1921. When Anna May was but 16. She was tough and smart. She had the temerity—-audacity, to decide that she would be a movie star. And the skill. An under-appreciated “Celluloid Hero” as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard. Until rather recently.

She also starred on the Broadway stage and in cabaret, with acclaim. She could, and did, write. And well. Rather. Long “a”.

“The Song” speaks of “midnight trains in empty stations”.

The 1921 newspaper article predicted Wong would soon “discover the mysteries of traveling by night.”

Ms. Gee Salisbury’s book illuminates so many of those night voyages. Literally, and figuratively.

The Substack link:

https://halfcastewoman.substack.com/?r=19b633&utm_campaign=subscribe-page-share-screen&utm_medium=web

This book gave a comprehensive overview of Anna May Wong's life. I learned so much not only about the actress (both her acting and activism), but also about early Hollywood, the movie industry, and the cultural feel of the 1920s to the 1950s. The amount of research that went into this is very clear; I enjoyed all the direct quotations and it truly felt like Anna May Wong came to life on the page. Many of the sentiments that she expressed still feel completely relevant today. I enjoyed the discussion of the current film industry vs. the environment in which Anna May Wong lived (and the last sentence of the book summed everything up so perfectly). I would recommend this book to anyone interested in early Hollywood/film production or West Coast Asian American history.

This is a comprehensive and interesting biography of Anna May Wong, a Chinese American movie star who used her influence to break stereotypes. Its immersive, narrative style brings the reader close to Wong as she navigates the challenges of being an Asian American woman, both in jazz-age America and in the film industry. This is a book that is well-researched with lots of good information, but a slightly more aggressive edit would have served the story better and kept a more steady narrative pace.

I absolutely love the setting of this book. It kept me engaged and wanting to read more and more. I found myself thinking about the story throughout the day.

My familiarity with Anna May Wong's life and career mostly came from a children's biography and Netflix's Hollywood series (which I know is more of a fantasy than an actual depiction of the times in parts), so I was eager to read this expansive biography of the first Asian-American movie superstar.

Not only is this a powerful and poignant depiction of Wong's too-short life, but it's also an eye-opening look at Asian-American representation in Hollywood during her lifetime, as well as the racism present in politics and society at that time.

Many thanks to Penguin/Dutton and NetGalley for a digital review copy in exhange for an honest review.

A comprehensive biography of actress Anna May Wong but a bit disjointed and overblown. Wong was born in Los Angeles to Chinese parents and she became a successful actress in the 1920s but her career was hampered by the Hollywood system that hesitated to use her to her full potential. There are countless examples of Wong losing parts because of her ethnicity, even when she was perfect for specific roles (most involved romantic interactions with Caucasian men, which of course was taboo. Wong was intelligent, elegant and stylish and made the most of her situation and garnered an impressive fan base. At almost 500 pages, the book is vastly overlong and suffers from needless extraneous details. Every co-worker or individual she comes into contact with is profiled at length. The author really goes overboard about the film "The Good Earth", a film that Wong was not even in, although it was unfortunate that she lost out on a role that seemed tailor-made for her. As Wong travels to China, her visit alternates with an exhausting, blow-by-blow account of the making of "The Good Earth". At times fascinating but a frustrating read as well.

Beautifully written & well-researched biography, infusing a 21st century feminist take on Anna Mae Wong. Written by a fifth generation Chinese-American. We need more of this perspective, honestly!!

My honest review of Not Your China Doll: The Wild & Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong
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Preface: Although I aided in some research on AMW & have become friends with Katie Gee Salisbury, the author of this biography, I will review this book like any other book on Anna May Wong—honestly & fairly. Opinions are my own. I am also known as the curator of The Gallery of Anna May Wong YouTube channel and the Anna May Wong Fans Instagram page.
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Technical: The life story of Anna May Wong is divided up by four sections—or 4 acts, with a total of 15 chapters—not including the preface, prologue, epilogue, and other pages. At least one photograph is included at the beginning of each chapter.
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The story: Anna May Wong’s life story is told through a narrative writing style. Rather than to summarize & take sources at face value, Katie does the investigative research & delves deep into AMW’s life. Primary sources & direct quotes are well integrated into the story which is told in chronological order. In doing so, she debunks many of the myths & misconceptions about AMW. Most importantly, it’s an incredibly tender, moving, factual & honest biography on AMW. The emotional parts of the book are executed perfectly—especially in regards to disappointments, death in the family, heartbreak, and so on. I cried at some emotionally stirring parts of the book. Of course, AMW’s wit & humor shone through at many points of this book—which I feel is lacking in some of the books on AMW. Classic film/Old Hollywood history is interwoven with AMW’s story. AMW’s physical & metaphorical death is beautifully written as is her legacy for future generations.
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Note: I saw a couple of errors which I brought up with the author & has been corrected for the final published version. She has added material to the published version.
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I rate this galley version 5 stars.