Empress Orchid
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £0.25
Trade in Empress Orchid for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £0.25, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Plus, get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Guardian
‘Empress Orchid is strong on both sexual chicanery and violent conspiracy ... fascinating’
Review
'Empress Orchid is strong on both sexual chicanery and violent conspiracy ... a fascinating account' Guardian 'A wild, passionate, fearless American writer' New York Times 'An engrossing story ... enhanced by Min's imaginative power ... Like all good novelists, she implies as much as she says, and her characterisation is subtle and worldly-wise' Glasgow Herald 'Rich in detail and historical background, the novel drenches readers in the colours, textures and affluence of the Forbidden City ... a stirring, exotic novel that is a treat for the senses and the intellect alike' Los Angeles Times
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked this book up at the airport and read the back while waiting for my husband to buy some magazines. I hadnt even finished the back cover and knew i had to have it.
The storyline centres around Orchid, a young Chinese girl in the 1800's who is chosen as one of the Emperor's Concubines and becomes one of the most powerful women in Chinese history. It follows her life from enterting into her marriage and gives you a real insight into the Forbidden City and life as a concubine.
This is an extremely enjoyable read which is written in an easy to follow style. I thoroughly enjoyed the way the author has written it, her style is fresh and keeps your attention constantly.
The character of Orchid and that of her head Eunuch are both interesting and very likeable characters. The voice of Orchid is truthful and entertaining with a hint of every emotion possible. There are tearful moments and laugh out loud snippets.
I would recommend this book happily, and would have given it 5 stars but for the fact i felt the ending was a little frustrating. The author finished on what she believes to be a high note and a good ending, but part of her writing style is to tell you parts of the future throughout the book in a casual manner (for example from the beginning Orchid tells us about being the most powerful woman in China by becoming the Empress, you dont have to read past the first chapter to see she will survive through all death threats etc in the book). However at the end i felt that a few of these casually mentioned parts of the story were not finished off and i found that frustrating. I really needed to know more! Its almost like there was going to be a second part, you were left really wanting more.
I am a big fan of Memoirs of a Geisha and Geisha of Gion, and although a totally different subject manner, i found this book equally fascinating.
Happy reading!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I loved it. The story of a girl overcoming hardships, set in the Forbidden City. She goes from nothing to becoming one of the most formidable women in China at the time. It's a work of fiction but is based on a real character, the Empress Dowager. This book only takes us through her early life though, before she becomes the Dowager empress and the story continues with the sequel. It was wonderful to soak up the atmosphere, pomp and ceremony from the pages and I can't wait to read what happens to her next.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I saw this book advertised on Richard and Judy's Bookclub and decided to get it. I'm so glad that i did, for it is a fantastic read. I found the main character Orchid to be a really strong and determined woman, who I grew to love. Her life is so tragic as a young girl, and you wonder how she and her family will survive with no money and no father to provide for them. I was horrified at the thought of her marrying her opium-addict cousin, and desperatley wanted her to fall in love with the emperor, which she did, but unfortuantley, it wasn't that simple in that time. Her fight to win the affections of the emperor and the things that she did in order to gain experience were incrediable, and the relationship between Orchid and the other empress, Nuharoo, had me turning the pages until the end. It also has some humerous parts which made me laugh out loud, like when she wanted to use the chamber pot with her maids around. I also grew to love the character of An-te-hai, and really wanted to slap her son Tun Chih at times! A truely enchanting and enlightening tale, the only reason it didn't get five as that it sometimes dragged a little.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Absolutely stunning!
I am a huge fan of Anchee Min and was very impressed and pleased with this book. Empress Orchid was an absolutely stunning book to read with a beautiful story line and with the... Read more
Published 23 months ago by GoldDragonFly
easier to read than you'd think
I did wonder whether this book would be too long and drawn out as i do like a 'flowing' read, not one you have to give too much thought to, but i need not have worried it's a good... Read more
Published 23 months ago by teddy
Empress Orchid
Kept me engrossed to the end, gave an insight into the fascinating powerful world of the Forbidden City, now reading the Last Empress.
Published on 16 Mar 2010 by Janette Cox
Empress Orchid
A very readable book written in the first person. If you like this book I would reccommend The Dragon Lady by Sterling Seagrove to get more detailed information about Tzu Hsi. Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2010 by Mrs. E. A. Tong
a real page turner ....
.... because I couldn't wait to get to the end and be done with it. Simple and one dimensional, this book could have been so much better. Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2010 by Matteusz
intense, detailed and enthralling
if you have any interest in historical writing or just books in general, you should read this!!
this is the story of a young poor girl in china who competes to become one of... Read more
this is the story of a young poor girl in china who competes to become one of... Read more
Published on 2 Dec 2009 by Bina
Holiday Read
I have a fascination with the Chinese culture and this book gave me more information regarding the Emperor and his selection of Empress and Concubines. Read more
Published on 3 Nov 2009 by D. Golightly
Truly Impressive.
Two words. FIVE STARS!!! I have read this book twice. The detail is amazing the research impeccable. I could not put it down. Read more
Published on 5 Oct 2009 by Blue Ace
One of the most amazing books I have ever read
I found this book fascinating, educating and unputdownable. Since i finished the book yesterday not only have I not been able to get it out of my mind, I egg to read another book... Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2009 by C. Hedges
Fascinating
The book follows the story of Tzu Hsi (known as Orchid) who enters the Forbidden City as one of the Emperors concubines at the age of seventeen. Read more
Published on 17 July 2009 by Blatant Biblioholic
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fiction > Historical
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
