Liliane was born of Russian Jewish parentage in the former French
Concession of Shanghai, China, where she attended a French
lycée. She and her family - all stateless -
experienced World War II under the Japanese military occupation,
later the Chinese civil war between the Nationalist government and the communists,
the arrival of the victorious People's Liberation Army and subsequent establishment of the People's
Republic of China (PRC).
Because of difficulties to obtain an immigration visa to the
United States under a very restrictive quota system, Liliane lived
two years under the PRC. All this is discussed in her book
Stateless in Shanghai published in 2010 by China Economic
Review Publishing (Hong Kong) Ltd. for Earnshaw
Books.
After Liliane emigrated to the United States, she studied as an
undergraduate at Boston University where she also received a Ph.D. in
French Language and Literature. She taught these subjects at Boston
College and at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. While in
academia, she published a book on Voltaire and a number of articles
on 18th century France. Later moving to Washington, DC, she worked
for the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Peace
Corps.
Since retirement Liliane has given lectures on history and culture
on cruise ships sailing around the world. Presently she speaks at
various organizations and book clubs on old and new Shanghai and her
book Stateless in Shanghai.