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The Courtesan and the Samurai
 
 
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The Courtesan and the Samurai [Kindle Edition]

Lesley Downer (Author)
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
Print List Price: £7.99
Kindle Price: £4.74 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: £3.25 (41%)
* Unlike print books, digital books are subject to VAT.

Formats

 Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition £4.74   -- --
Hardcover £11.81   -- --
Paperback £5.99   -- --
Audio, CD, Audiobook, Unabridged £38.68   -- --
Audio Download, Unabridged £25.27 or Free with Audible.co.uk 30-day free trial

Product Description

Review

Vividly narrated...I believed in this engrossing story and felt my insides quake as Hana approached her invevitable fate (Jonathan Mirsky THE SPECTATOR 20100424)

This is historical romance at its best. (Lancashire Evening Post 20100520)

A wonderful novel full of fact, fiction, fear and fantasy. If you like your love stories epic, then this will surely hit the mark. (Historical Novel Review, May 2010 )

With exotic locations and a tale of lives torn apart by adversity, this is heart-stopping romance. (Lancashire Evening Post 20100722)

Book Description

In the Floating World of the Yoshiwara sex is for sale and the only forbidden fruit is love ... A new romantic and exotic novel by the bestselling author of The Last Concubine.
See all Product Description

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 544 KB
  • Print Length: 480 pages
  • Publisher: Transworld Digital (13 April 2010)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B003F2QO4Q
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Not Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #20,106 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
18 reviews
4.2 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Descriptive flair 6 April 2010
By Kevin
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
With descriptive flair ("women in dresses shaped like temple bells", for example, and a villain whose head is "like a tangerine balanced on top of a pumpkin-sized rice cake") Lesley Downer mines a rich seam of historical romance in this tale of love lost and found amid the social and military upheaval of late nineteenth-century Japan. The period lends itself to all sort of quirky insights on what happens when ancient meets modern (a samurai sword, for example, splits a bullet in half) as the author explores a strange world that mixed chivalry with commerce and which, even more strangely, survived in Japan right into the twentieth century.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The courtesan and the samurai 27 April 2013
By sharon salter
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Well written kept me guessing right to the end. Having read a book set in a similar time this story links the historical aspects brilliantly and I look forward to reading more ny this author.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Nimble, Exciting Storytelling 24 Oct 2012
By SFR Daniel
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is in a way the "same world" as in The Last Concubine. But it's not, also. It's recognizably Japan of the late 1860s and the political realities are similar to the same period in the first novel. But this is a different part of that world, and the characters have intense, serious challenges and preoccupations that are all their own and miles and miles away from the other harsh realities faced by the characters in the other book. Lesley Downer's skill at presenting individual personalities and situations is immense. Deft brushstrokes create each moment of a vivid and fascinating existence, with its dangers, its sensations, its unknown possibilities. I love the way she drops me into situations; I never know what's coming next. I can feel the stinging winds, I feel the fear of impending battle, I am there with the warriors in the desperate situation. I am living with these people. It's an absorbing adventure thriller. It's a picture of a country in the turmoil of rapid upheaval, an ancient culture shaken beyond its roots. It is romantic, yes. (I was happy to see a character from the first book turn up in this one, and hope to meet that person again now that I've started the third novel. I won't say who it is, so you'll have the pleasure of experiencing it yourself.)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this book.
Really enjoyed reading,rather like some other titles i have read,but still enjoyed and have recomended it to friend who read similar material.
Published 7 days ago by Mrs. Marion Elder
3.0 out of 5 stars Good read
Good read as I love Lesley Downer - lots of historical facts entwined with an enchanting fictional story. Slow to begin with but worth reading until the end.
Published 29 days ago by Ckt
4.0 out of 5 stars Liked parts of it!
I did not find this book an easy read. There were times I feltthe story was rather turgid at times. I didn't care what happened to the heroine, or hero. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Eirlys
5.0 out of 5 stars Really good read
I really enjoyed this book. I loved Memoirs of a Geisha, so took this to be the next best thing. Good storyline, and very beautifully written
Published 2 months ago by carlydm
4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant
This book was a lovely lovely read, very pleasant.
Always like a little romance , along with a little adventure.
Published 2 months ago by babes
3.0 out of 5 stars Average Read
This was a good read overall but not a wow read. The storyline was very simple and straightforward. Nothing more
Published 5 months ago by Abbylusi
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant and Entertaining
This a hugely entertaining book that has been thoroughly researched and gives a deeper insight into the truth of the civil war that divided Japan during the Meiji Restoration. Read more
Published 7 months ago by A. Davies
4.0 out of 5 stars Great read
After reading and enjoying The Last Concubine I was hoping that this book would be as good and I wasn't disappointed. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Milliemollie
5.0 out of 5 stars A time forgotten.
I would highly recommend this title as well as Lesley Downer's other fictional story 'The Last Concubine'

What I love about Downer's novels is the basis they have in... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Hosterio
4.0 out of 5 stars Just what you paid for
If you like samurai books, then this is the book for you. Good, gripping action, fascinating piece of history.
Delivery was quick and I was very pleased with Amazon.
Published 24 months ago by a languages aficionado
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