The Last Empress: A Novel

It is hard to imagine what the royal life was like in Forbidden City. This story of the life of the last Empress does a marvelous job. Characters are well described, as are emotions, and conflicts as the Ching dynasty winds to close.A very enjoyable read, pages turning quickly, one chapter to the next and to finish.

Being a fan of historical fictions, I enjoy reading books covering the recent centuries of China's rulers. With so much controversy surrounding the Dragon Empress, any book about her is bound to be interesting.However this book, in addition to providing a lot of interesting information, provides the material in a very digestible narrative so that you never lose track of names, events, and locations.

Well done. This is a really good, and very entertaining piece of historical fiction. The breath and scope of its massive historical and cultural insights are fantastic for anyone desirous of obtaining an in-depth, rather than superficial view, of Chinese government, administration, culture and politics of a very interesting period in Chinese history. It does this in a surprisingly entertaining way. It is very well written, and deserves accolades as an excellent offering of a really enjoyable, well-crafted story providing a genuine look beneath the commonly misunderstood surface.

After devouring Empress Orchid in a single day, I found myself struggling to battle through this turgid sequel, which came as a surprise given that I had expected that as Min's main character moved toward consolidating power, her story would become more dramatic.That may have been true of history, but not in this fictional recounting of the life of Tzu Hsi, aka Yehonala, or Orchid, the Manchu girl who becomes a concubine, then an Empress, then de facto dictator of China at the time of Queen Victoria. As the book opens, Orchid has buried her husband and must, alongside her fellow Empress, try to prevent the seizure of power by those who will try to destroy her infant son. Then she must tackle the bigger challenge of ruling the vast empire, as it comes under constant siege from Western powers. It's a two-front war that she is doomed to lose -- if she spends the time and attention that she needs to on running the empire's affairs, she can't spend it on the upbringing of the young Emperor who will take over the throne when he reaches his majority. The result is a series of tragedies that could have made for great dramatic fiction.Alas... Min's narrative reads more as if Yehonala is recounting historical fact, with occasional bursts of dialogue to remind us that we're reading fiction. It's a lot of interior monologue, as well, a device that worked better in the first book when Yehonala's challenges were of a more domestic nature (how to bring herself to the attention of the Emperor, for instance.) Perhaps the problem is simply that the issues that the Empress had to deal with were so numerous and complex that it was impossible to do justice to them? In any event, Min, who has proved her ability to craft a gripping novel elsewhere, failed to deliver on this one.As other reviewers have noted, it's rare to see a relatively positive portrayal of Yehonala, but Min makes a compelling case for viewing the empress as a victim of her times and circumstances, caught between warring factions and with limited room to manoeuver. In so many cases, it's hard to see how she could have acted differently, and the historical record of those actions is certainly open to the interpretation that Min ascribes to them, even if the mainstream view is a far less charitable one.The real strengths of this novel lie in Min's command of the telling detail -- Yehonala's scroll paintings, retouched by her teacher; the freezing cold and scarcity of wood one winter; the horrors of her flight from the European invasion of Beijing after the Boxer Rebellion. In contrast to the first book, however, these are overwhelmed by sometimes tedious details of endless negotiating with court figures such as Prince Kung; one of these political battles began swiftly to feel very much like another.Recommended only to die-hard fans of Empress Orchid, who should prepare for a disappointment.

Author Anchee Min has mastered the art of imbuing fresh character into the lives of Chinese people who have long passed, be they peasant, poor, royalty, or somewhere in between. I read both ‘Empress Orchid’ and its successor, ‘The Last Empress’, from cover to cover over a mere two weeks. Min’s books reveal astonishing depth, and those seeking to look into the Forbidden City’s secrets will not be disappointed.

This is a continuation of the story of Empress Orchid; the last Empress of China. In this sequel, the storyline continues from where Empress Orchid left off. This book contains a vast amount of politics regarding the opening of China to the western world, interwoven with Orchid's continuing struggle to maintain herself as Empress, then Regent, then Empress again during the upheaval in the Chinese Imperial Court.For anyone who likes Chinese history, as I do, this is a very good book.Carol M.

Love it so far, I got through the first 25 chapters in a couple of days

Beautifully written account of a fascinating time in Chinese history and culture.

This book is very compelling and paints a picture of China leading up to the turn of the century. The author makes the Empress live and we learn her way of life, the constraints she lives under and the hidden tragedies of her life. I now know more about the state of China, the behind the scenes truth about China's royalty. An engaging and very worthwhile read.

I loved the book.The history is fascinating, the characters have strong personalities and they experience love, war, family problems, politics, etc.It would be a great book if it was a fantasy novel but the best thing is that you learn about history without making any effort and enjoying it all the time.

I was hopping to be fascinated by this reading as much as I encountered myself being fascinated by the previous book, but it didn't happen. I wished to read more about life inside the forbidden city, the traditions, the concubines, the superstitions surrounding everyone's lives, but The second half of this book was flooded with political problems and discussions about foreigners and insiders threatening the throne. I guess political problems and how to solve them is not really what I'm keen on.

It was ok but not that great

I ordered The Last Empress after I read Empress Orchid and I was not disappointed at all. Again, Anchee Min succeeded in drawing the reader into the centre of the beautiful but harsh world within the Forbidden City. The time and research into Empress Dowager Tzu Hsi's life on the throne is projected perfectly in this book and from the first page you get dragged into the joy, happiness and pain of one of China's most powerful but humble empresses and her goal to make both her sons succeed as the Emperor of China. A well written book with happy, laugh out-loud, suspense and sad moments and once again, an absolute master piece by Anchee Min. I will definitely recommend it to other readers.