What history nerd can fail to be fascinated by stories of Chinese history and culture? While modern governments seldom last more than a handful of seasons, imperial China endured for two thousand years. Although, as elsewhere in the world, China was dominated by rulers and an elite hierarchy of men, there were several women at the end of its imperial history who wielded real power. This month’s selections will give us glimpses of two of the most important of them, the first empress and the concubine-turned-empress who came to overshadow her.
We begin with THE OTHER EMPRESS by Amanda Roberts. Though trained from birth to become the wife of a high-ranking man, gentle fifteen-year-old Zhenxiu was not prepared to master the bitter rivalries and dangerous intrigue of the Qing Court into which she is thrust as the new wife of future emperor Xianfeng. Befriending young concubine Lanhua, she helps bring the girl to the emperor’s attention, and over the years, the two grow close. When the emperor dies, leaving Lanhua’s five-year-old son as the new emperor, the two band together to protect the boy, becoming defacto rulers. But as the unprepared dowager empress relies more and more on the bold Lanhua’s assistance, she realizes her friend’s ruthless ambition could spell disaster—or salvation—for all they hold dear. Robertson paints a vivid picture of aristocratic Chinese society, its ancient traditions, sumptuous food and clothing, unbendable rules and labyrinthian workings--an imperial world that coexisted with a completely different imperial Victorian England.
Robertson completes her story arc in THE PEARL CONCUBINE, out in March 2024. Given to the emperor Guangxu (nephew of Empress Cixi, chosen when her son dies without an heir) as a concubine at the age of twelve, the free-spirited young girl known as Pearl becomes the emperor’s favorite. As the emperor spends more and more time with the girl, even consulting her about his appointments, she incites the wrath of his powerful aunt. But never content to remain in the shadows, the outspoken Pearl refuses to bow to court tradition, the outdated rules of a dying system—or the country’s powerful ruler. Her ambition and resistance to being controlled would ultimately lead to her death—and turn her into a legend.
Along with new biographical studies that seek to rehabilitate Empress Cixi’s former image as a lustful, bloodthirsty harridan (images perpetrated by her domestic and foreign enemies, one would point out) Anchee Min presents another favorable view of the woman who will end up being the only female ever to rule in imperial China. EMPRESS ORCHID: A NOVEL begins the story as the teenage Tzu Hsi enters the Forbidden City as a junior concubine. Along with bearing the emperor his only son, with her unusual (for a high-born Chinese woman) ability to read and write in Chinese, she soon becomes called on to assist the emperor in more than just bedroom duties. But when the emperor dies, leaving her young son as ruler, the true test begins. Suspicious of the eight regents appointed to assist the new emperor, with a fine sense of political maneuvering, Cixi bands with her sister Empress and one of the princes to execute a coup that strips the council of power—and leaves her the true behind-the-scenes ruler of China. Prevailing through domestic revolt and foreign attempts to invade and conquer, Cixi also brings modernization to China while trying to protect the traditional values she venerates. Like Robertson’s book, Min’s book deftly evokes the richness, decadence and fascination of imperial China.
And like Robertson, Min breaks her story into two parts, finishing up with THE LAST EMPRESS. This account covers in detail the tumultuous final years of the nineteenth century into the twentieth, during which Empress Cixi works with Progressives to continue modernization while remaining true to her conservative roots. She steps aside for the reign of a new emperor, only to take up the reins of power again to try to preserve her nation from foreign and domestic threat. “Dragon Lady,” blood-thirsty, power-mad? Or a brilliant but flawed woman improvising policy as she goes along meeting unprecedented threats and facing unforeseeable problems?
This month’s selections will give you a ringside seat to the final act of one of the history’s longest-ruling governments. And for a history nerd, knowing that a woman was at the helm during that time is the icing on the cake. Enjoy!
Real, intense, passionate historical romance
Award-winning romance author Julia Justiss, who has written more than thirty historical novels and novellas set in the English Regency and the American West, just completed her first contemporary series set in the fictional Hill Country town of Whiskey River, Texas.
A voracious reader who began jotting down plot ideas for Nancy Drew novels in her third grade spiral, Julia has published poetry and worked as a business journalist.
She and her husband live in East Texas, where she continues to craft the stories she loves. Check her website for details about her books, chat with her on social media, and follow her on Bookbub and Amazon to receive notices about her latest releases.
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