1. THE CRIPPLED TREE. 2. A MORTAL FLOWER. 3. BIRDLESS SUMMER. de Han Suyin. (Elizabeth K C Comber, Born Rosalie Matilda Kuanghu Chow.)

London: Jonathan Cape Han Suyin (1916-2012), daughter of a Chinese father and Belgium mother, was born Rosalie Matilda Kuanghu Chow and is perhaps best known for her novel "A Many-Splendoured Thing", basis for the movie, "Love is a Many-Splendored Thing". These are the first three volumes of her autobiography, tracing her family history from 1885, then her own story up to 1948. (Two later volumes, covering the years 1949-1991 are not included here.) All are in dust jackets, have pictorial endpapers, b&w photo-graphs & map, 8 3/4" H. 1. The Crippled Tree - 461 pp, 1970 reprint, ISBN 0224610058. "Han Suyin evokes, through the life of her two families (eastern and western), a panorama of the history of China from 1885 to 1928. It contains eyewitness accounts, from family papers, of the Sino-French War, of the revolution of 1911 and of the emergence of Chiang Kai-shek." 2. A Mortal Flower - 413 pp, 1966 first edition. "(Covers) the decade from 1928 to 1938, when Chiang Kai-shek rose to power and Mao Tsetung in his mountain fastness gathered the spent remnants of an almost destroyed communist army and rebuilt it as a force. The Japanese invasion, the Long March, the Student Revolt of 1936 - all these happened in China while Hitler and Mussolini hypnotized Europe with their preparations for war." 3. Birdless Summer - 347 pp, 1968 first edition, ISBN 224614711. "The events of Chinese history between 1938 and 1948 are vividly reconstructed (here). The story of Han Suyin's unhappy marriage to a fanatical army officer is told against the background of the appalling confusion and corruption of China at that time: the Japanese invasion, the misery and squalor of the retreating Chinese, the activi-ties of Chiang Kai-shek and his 'Blueshirts', the violent prelude to revolution. (Her) narrative is not merely the affecting and extraordinary lfie of a woman of immense courage. In the way that it brings to life more powerfully than ever before the spirit and politics of China, it is a significant contribution to the history of our time." Volume 1- fading to color at edges of boards and on front hinge, very light wrinkling at bottom of spine. Dust jacket is price-clipped, has minor edge wear, light edge wrinkling, two edge tears archivally taped, slight fading to spine color. Volume 2 - light fading to color on top of spine - also a tiny stain, Christmas gift inscription on front free endpaper, very light browning to edges of text block, very light edge wear, very small bump to bottom corner of front board - migrates into half the pages, minor shelf soiling on bottom of text block. Dust jacket is price-clipped, has light browning on spine, light wrinkling at top/bottom of spine and flap-folds, light wear at top of rear hinge and front flap, small ink stin on inside of rear flap, light rubbing. Volume 3 has very light edge wear. Dust jacket is price-clipped, has very light edge wrinkling.. Hard Cover.