Description
Lisa See is a best-selling Chinese American writer and a native Angeleno. Her works include historical fiction novels, a memoir
of her biracial family's immigration and their role in founding Los Angeles's Chinatown, and mystery thrillers. In addition
to manuscripts, publicity, and research, the papers includes correspondence, materials related to several exhibits See curated,
appointment books and journals, and awards.
Background
Lisa See (Lisa See Kendall) was born in 1955 in Paris, France. She is best known for her historical fiction novels about the
friendships and romances of Chinese women and Asian American women. She is also known for her memoir of the history of her
family in the United States, On Gold Mountain, inspired by many hours she spent as a young girl with her paternal grandparents
in Los Angeles' Chinatown.
See received her Bachelor of Arts from Loyola Marymount University in 1979 when she began her ongoing work as a freelance
journalist. From 1983 to 1996 she was the West Coast correspondent for Publishers Weekly. From 1983 to 1990 she collaborated
on books with her mother Carolyn See and John Espey, collectively using the pseudonym Monica Highland. These books were Lotus
Land (1983), 110 Shanghai Road (1986), and Greetings from Southern California (1986).
Extent
45.2 linear feet
(97 boxes, 2 oversize boxes, 1 telescope box, 1 oversize map folder, and 1 shoebox)
Restrictions
Property rights to the physical objects belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. All other rights, including copyright,
are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
Availability
Open for research. All requests to access special collections materials must be made in advance using the request button located
on this page.