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The Last Empress (Empress Orchid, #2) by Anchee Min; Alexandra O'Karma is a book available to read on EtoBox.

What is The Last Empress (Empress Orchid, #2) about?

Amazon.com ReviewPower is a here-today, gone-tomorrow concept in Chinese history, especially for women. In her previous novel, Empress Orchid, Anchee Min covered the first part of the life of Tzu Hsi, or Empress Orchid. Now, in The Last Empress, the empress is a widow, mother of the only male heir of the now-deceased emperor, and in a formidable position. Still, she must contend with palace intrigue on all fronts; even her eunuchs are bribed. She must put up with the smiling faces of men and women who mean her great harm, and, worst of all, her son takes up with prostitutes and dies of veneral disease. She adopts her nephew to be emperor, treats him like a son, and despairs of his weakness. Constant deceit is not the only difficulty which must be faced: incursions of foreigners and domestic rebellion are also part of this violent period at the end of the 19th century. There is the love-hate relationship with the Japanese, the Boxer Rebellion, and widespread mistrust of Western foreigners. Yet Empress Orchid believes that they must appease these factions in order to preserve the dynasty and the throne. All these problems converge to bring the Ch'ing Dynasty to its eventual demise. A

Author

Anchee Min; Alexandra O'Karma

Publisher

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Published

2007

Language

EN

ISBN

9781428142411

Subjects

Literary Fiction, Humanities

Rating

3.79 / 5 (6,428 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14