Imperial Woman (Library Edition) : The Story of the Last Empress of China (CD-Audio)

from MerryMary

I first read this many years ago as an impressionable teen. I was blown away by the descriptions of jewels, gowns, palaces, etc., etc. I found the idea of giving up love for power to be romantic and waxed quite sentimental over it. Reading it again in my adult years, I found my interests focused ...

from tess_schoolmarm

It just doesn't get any better than Pearl Buck writing about the orient. This was a more historical story than most of hers, well research for the time, about Empress (Dragon Queen) Cixi, the last Empress of China. The empress had charisma, shrewdness, and a sadistic streak; although when she lov...

from Smiler69

Pearl S. Buck's fictionalized account of the last Empress of China (1861-1908), who, first known as Orchid, went from being chosen at the age of seventeen to be one of hundreds of Imperial concubines living in the Forbidden City, to becoming the all-powerful Empress Cixi (or Tzu Hsi) is nothing l...

from karen.collins

This is my favorite of all time! I think I really enjoy the historical aspect of the book tied in with enough detail about the characters to make it come to life. I love the boldness of the Last Empress. She was a strong woman in a day and culture that did not allow it.

from autumnesf

I like Pearl Buck so I thought I'd try her book on Cixi after reading two more current books on her. Much of it ran along the same lines as the more current books, but actually this one made her look worse. It is implied that the emperors son was not fathered by him and makes a big love affair (o...