![]() ![]() The book begins with Tsu Hsi ruminating on the decayed status of the Ch’ing Dynasty. Min relies on deep research to recreate the final years of the Ch’ing Dynasty in China, exploring one of the more complex and under-studied personalities in world history in the process. Little does she know that China will collapse around her, and she will be its last Empress. Empress Orchid is a historical novel by Anchee Min, published in 2004. ![]() Determined not to be a victim of the jealousies and foul play, Orchid trains herself in the art of pleasing a man, bribes her way into the royal bed and seduces the monarch. ![]() The thousands of concubines will go to any lengths to bear the Emperor a son and become his Empress. As the family faces poverty and starvation in Beijing, the 17-year-old Orchid learns of an Imperial decree announcing that the young Emperor Hsien Feng is looking for future mates who, to preserve the purity of the Imperial blood, must be Manchu. Empress Orchid Print length 368 pages Language English Publisher Mariner Books Publication date ApDimensions 5.5 x 0.81 x 8.25 inches See all details 'What Lies Between Us' by John Marrs for 10.99 ITW Thriller Award winner International Book Awards winner Nina can never forgive Maggie for what she did. The world inside the Forbidden City is erotically charged and highly ritualised, but beneath its immaculate face lie whispers of murder and ghosts. 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. Trade in Opium with Europe is slowly corroding the power of the Ch’ing Dynasty. ![]() It is the final days of the Chinese Empire. ![]()
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