She received international acclaim back in 1991 when her book, Wild Swans, was published. It told the story of her mother, her grandmother and herself and was a worldwide bestseller.

 She followed that with Mao: The Unknown Story and Empress Dowager Xixi: The Concubine Who launched Modern China. 

Her books have been translated into more than 40 languages and sold more than 15 million copies outside mainland China, where they are banned. 

Her latest, Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the heart of Twentieth-Century China, charts the lives of the Soong sisters, who were among the most significant political figures of early 20th-century China.