At the end of the nineteenth century China is rocked by humiliating foreign attacks and local rebellions. The only constant is the power wielded by one woman: the resilient, ever-resourceful Tzu Hsi, also known as Empress Orchid. Moving from the intimacy of the concubine quarters into the spotlight of the world stage, Orchid makes a dramatic metamorphosis from a strong-willed young woman to a wise political leader, who must not only face the perilous condition of her fading empire but also a series of devastating personal ...
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At the end of the nineteenth century China is rocked by humiliating foreign attacks and local rebellions. The only constant is the power wielded by one woman: the resilient, ever-resourceful Tzu Hsi, also known as Empress Orchid. Moving from the intimacy of the concubine quarters into the spotlight of the world stage, Orchid makes a dramatic metamorphosis from a strong-willed young woman to a wise political leader, who must not only face the perilous condition of her fading empire but also a series of devastating personal losses. Yearning to step aside yet growing constantly into her role, only she can hold the nation's rival factions together. In this sequel to the bestselling novel Empress Orchid, Anchee Min brings to life one of the most important figures in Chinese history, a very human leader who assumes power reluctantly, and who sacrifices all she has to protect both those she loves and her doomed empire.
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Add this copy of The Last Empress to cart. $1.25, fair condition, Sold by Once Upon A Time Books rated 3.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Tontitown, AR, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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Fair in fair dust jacket. This is a used book. It may contain highlighting/underlining and/or the book may show heavier signs of wear. It may also be ex-library or without dustjacket. This is a used book. It may contain highlighting/underlining and/or the book may show heavier signs of wear. It may also be ex-library or without dustjacket.
Add this copy of The Last Empress: a Novel to cart. $1.65, good condition, Sold by Gulf Coast Books rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Memphis, TN, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Mariner Books.
Add this copy of The Last Empress: a Novel to cart. $1.66, good condition, Sold by Orion Tech rated 5.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Arlington, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Mariner Books.
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Add this copy of The Last Empress. Anchee Min to cart. $1.99, like new condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Dallas rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Dallas, TX, UNITED STATES, published 2008 by Bloomsbury UK.
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Add this copy of The Last Empress to cart. $1.99, very good condition, Sold by ThriftBooks-Baltimore rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Halethorpe, MD, UNITED STATES, published 2007 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Most American readers and movie goers like happy endings, which usually translates into fantasy and we all know what a fantasy is: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. You won?t find a happy ending in Anchee Min?s The Last Empress, but you will find a closer version to the truth. I recently read in the San Francisco Chronicle, The Rocky Mountain News and the Los Angeles Times that The Last Empress isn't as powerful as The Empress Orchid, which is the first edition in this two book series. The critics writing for those three newspapers are correct. The reason for that is because The Last Empress is a completely different story (something that those critics seem to have missed)?one that chronicles the life of a mother/empress who struggles to assure that her son and then her nephew will be strong enough to save China and quite a struggle it is. In The Empress Orchid we have a young person coming of age, and the struggles of surviving when a main character is young usually makes for a faster paced story then a middle age character or older. The Last Empress is the sequel to the highly successful Empress Orchid. It is true that Communist Chinese school books paint Tzu Hsi as a monster and demon, which goes along with the stories of Edmund Backhouse, the London Times correspondent to China during the final days of the Ching Dynasty?never mind that scholar and historian Sterling Seagrave revealed in his book, Dragon Lady, that Backhouse was a liar. Backhouse painted the Empress as a sexual deviant hungry for power and that seems to be what the critics writing in San Francisco, Los Angeles and the Midwest want from Anchee Min?s The Last Empress. Fortunately for us, Anchee Min gives us an Empress closer to the truth. I, for one, would rather read about the real world than a myth perpetuated by liars. When I want a fantasy, I?ll go to the movies. The Last Empress paints a picture of China as it really was at that time. For readers who prefer reality to fantasy, I recommend this book. The Empress Orchid is a story about an adolescent growing into maturity. In The Last Empress we see the mature person at work.
