Although Ticie was a perfect partner for Fong See in helping him develop his growing number of stores and being the proud mother of many of his children, in the end their marriage was destroyed.

Keenly aware of his wealth and influence, as Fong See grew older he felt that the Chinese view of men's superiority to women was correct.

Although See treats her male ancestors with detailed and objective commentary, it is the women's perspectives that seem the most powerful—for example, those of Lettice Pruett, Sissee See, Stella See, the actress Anna May Wong,[3] who has the chance to speak to the reader "From the Grave",[4] and Carolyn See, Lisa See's mother.

In the three novels that follow (the Red Princess Mysteries), See reuses many of these elements—but shifts the focus to the difficulty Americans face in coming to and understanding China.

Despite the anti-miscegenation laws prevalent at the time, Fong See and Ticie Pruett married and had several children, including Florence "Sissee" See and Eddy See.

[8] The store initially opened in 1888 by Fong See after moving from Sacramento to Los Angeles with Pruett, the F. Suie One Co., is still operated by Gilbert and Sissee's daughter, Leslee See Leong.