Try free for 30 days

1 credit a month to use on any title, yours to keep (you’ll use your first credit on this title).
Stream or download thousands of included titles.
Access to exclusive deals and discounts.
$16.45 a month after 30 day trial. Cancel anytime.
Gum Moon: A Novel of San Francisco Chinatown cover art

Gum Moon: A Novel of San Francisco Chinatown

By: Jeffrey L Staley
Narrated by: Mare Trevathan
Try for $0.00

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $27.99

Buy Now for $27.99

Pay using voucher balance (if applicable) then card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions Of Use and Privacy Notice and authorise Audible to charge your designated credit card or another available credit card on file.

Publisher's Summary

Based on events in the life of the author's wife's grandmother, Gum Moon (Cantonese for "Gold Door" or "Golden Gate") is the remarkable coming of age story of a Chinese American girl, Mei Chun Lai, who is sold in 1898 at the age of three to a cruel brothel keeper. 

A sympathetic prostitute befriends Chun, but during a plague quarantine, Chun is thrust into a bewildering new world when she is rescued and placed in a home for abused and trafficked girls. The home is destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, but Chun (aka "Maud") survives. 

In an attempt to raise funds to rebuild the home, Maud and a group of seven other Chinese children embark on a cross-country singing tour. Performing for President Theodore Roosevelt is the highlight of the journey, but when the matron of the home suffers a breakdown, 13-year-old Maud must find within herself the strength and resolve to lead the band of children home.

©2018 Jeffrey L. Staley (P)2019 Jeffrey L. Staley

What listeners say about Gum Moon: A Novel of San Francisco Chinatown

Average Customer Ratings

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.