The Fourth Princess by Janie Chang is a Gothic style, historical fiction novel that takes place in China in the early 1900s. Lisan Liu is an orphan, raised in Shanghai as the ward of a rich man, she longs to find a place for herself, and finds a job as a secretary to an American woman, Caroline, who is recently married and moved to Shanghai with her new husband.
The story is told from dual points of view, those of Lisan and Caroline. Both characters are interesting in different ways as secrets come out about both their lives. There were a few times when I felt like there were some things in the story that were unnecessary, but as time went on it became clearer why they were included.
I loved the setting and the cultural aspects especially the superstitions surrounding ghosts. It wasn’t hard to figure out the meaning of the title, but despite that the novel still had a number of surprises, and the atmosphere was perfect for a gothic novel.
There were only a few minor things I disliked about the book.
The first, was the reaction from one of the characters, Mason, near the end of the book. His reaction to a certain situation seemed like a complete 180 compared to his character throughout the book which made that part of the story a little less believable and enjoyable for me.
The second, was the fact that one of the characters didn’t face the justice they deserved. Again, I can’t be specific because it will spoil the book, but once you read it, you’ll know.
And third, the relationship between Lisan and Yao, I was really wanting to see their relationship develop, and I think the book hinted at them getting together eventually, but I’m not sure I actually believe that will work out for them given some of the things that came out in the book.
This was the first novel I’ve read by Janie Chang, but I am interested in reading more. If you enjoy gothic novels, and are tired of the same old settings, then I think you’ll enjoy this book.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
The Fourth Princess will be available on February 10 2026.
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