The Last Empress

Name: The Last Empress
Rating: 3.87 (10561 reviews)

by Anchee Min Book 2 in the Empress Orchid series.

First published 2007

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3.9(10,561)

After the Xianfeng Emperor’s death, Orchid rules as empress dowager beside Empress Nuharoo while attempting to preserve the dynasty for her young son Tongzhi. Court factions, military defeat and the demands of foreign powers make every decision vulnerable to manipulation, and Orchid’s authority is repeatedly constrained by the men who speak in the emperor’s name.

The novel follows the deaths of Tongzhi and Nuharoo, the accession and confinement of Guangxu, and the growth of reformist and anti-foreign movements. As the Boxer Rebellion brings invasion to Beijing, Orchid must protect the imperial household and confront the possibility that the Qing state she has spent her life defending cannot survive.