Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Review of Empress Orchid

Empress Orchid
Empress Orchid
Author: Anchee Min
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
Readnmachine avatar reviewed on + 1474 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


Historical novel about the early life of the last empress of China -- the infamous Dowager Empress, whom history has named a manipulative monster. While the character of Orchid is presented sympathetically here, and the detail of daily life in China's Imperial Court is fascinating, the story itself seems overlong. And it only goes through the early days of Orchid's regency.