by Anchee Min (Author)
It is the final days of the Chinese Empire. Trade in opium with Europe is slowly corroding the power of the Ch'ing Dynasty. Orchid, a beautiful seventeen-year-old from an aristocratic but impoverished family, is pushed into the maelstrom when she finds herself unexpectedly chosen to become a lower-ranking concubine of the Emperor. The world inside the Forbidden City is erotically charged and highly ritualised, but beneath its immaculate face lie whispers of murders and ghosts. The thousands of concubines will go to any lengths to bear the Emperor a son and become his Empress. Determined not to be a victim of the jealousies and foul play, Orchid trains herself in the art of pleasuring a man, bribes her way into the royal bed and seduces the monarch. Little does she know that China will collapse around her, and she will be its last Empress.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Edition: Open market ed
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Published: 03 Jan 2005
ISBN 10: 0747576130
ISBN 13: 9780747576136
Book Overview: Over 36,000 copies sold to date For fans of Wild Swans, Red Azalea and historical fiction