THE LAST EMPRESS: A Novel

from regina.arbeia

The second part of the fictional story of the last Empress of China, must read the first (Empress Orchid) to have a grasp of the politics and cultural conditions of the era. Not quite as interesting or lively as the first book and downright ponderous in places.

from jobinsonlis

I thought this book was boring, which was especially disappointing because I had enjoyed the first book and was looking forward to this sequel that was more about Orchid running the country after her husband's death. But the book goes through those decades at a breakneck speed, throwing names, pl...

from Elizabeth088

Fictionalised account of the life of the Empress Cixi, last Empress of China. A rather "lite" and superficial treatment which did not really bring out the circumstances and context of the times, nor the complexities of the Empress' character.

from regina.arbeia

The second part of the fictional story of the last Empress of China, must read the first (Empress Orchid) to have a grasp of the politics and cultural conditions of the era. Not quite as interesting or lively as the first book and downright ponderous in places.

from dougwood57

In this sequel to Empress Orchid, Anchee Min continues her revisionist portrait of the Lady Yehonala, aka, Tzu Hsi, Ci Xi, the Dowager Empress, and the Dragon Lady. Min portrays the Empress as a reluctant ruler who worked the levers of power indirectly through her emperor sons Tung Chih and Guang...