The Other Empress

In this exciting novel from USA Today best-selling author Amanda Roberts, the story of the slow march toward the fall of the Qing Dynasty comes to life in vivid detail, revealing a world of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue surrounding the world of empresses, princesses, consorts, and concubines, and the emperors they served. History books may tell about the fall of the Qing Dynasty. But they haven't told my story… Born to a family of wealth and privilege, Zhenxiu was trained from a young age to become the wife of a very powerful man, though she prayed it would not be Prince Yizhu, the future Xianfeng Emperor, a man with cruel and salacious appetites. The sudden death of the prince's consort, however, thrusts fifteen-year-old Zhenxiu into the prince's bed and the center of the Qing Court, a court still reeling from the aftershocks of the Opium War. Zhenxiu finds solace in the friendship of a girl named Lanhua, and she does her best to help her friend rise in the emperor's estimation. When the emperor dies and leaves only Lanhua's five-year-old son as his heir, Zhenxiu finds herself as the de facto ruler of China, a position she was never trained to occupy. As she leans more and more on Lanhua for help, she slowly comes to realize that Lanhua's ambition has no bounds. An ambition that could get them both killed. The Other Empress is a riveting historical drama that brings to light the story of an empress who stood at the helm of the Qing Dynasty for more than twenty years. An empress overshadowed by the strong presence of the woman who would prove to be her dearest friend—and her most dangerous rival. Keywords: historical fiction, historical Chinese fiction, 19th century, China, Qing Dynasty, Philipa Gregory, Amy Tan, saga, series, epic, Asia, classics, dark ages, royalty, dark history, royal, imperial, genealogy, medieval, middle ages, kings, queen, emperor, empress, romance, drama

In this exciting novel from USA Today best-selling author Amanda Roberts, the story of the slow march toward the fall of the Qing Dynasty comes to life in vivid detail, revealing a world of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue surrounding the world of empresses, princesses, consorts, and concubines, and the emperors they served. History books may tell about the fall of the Qing Dynasty. But they haven't told my story... Born to a family of wealth and privilege, Zhenxiu was trained from a young age to become the wife of a very powerful man, though she prayed it would not be Prince Yizhu, the future Xianfeng Emperor, a man with cruel and salacious appetites. The sudden death of the prince's consort, however, thrusts fifteen-year-old Zhenxiu into the prince's bed and the center of the Qing Court, a court still reeling from the aftershocks of the Opium War. Zhenxiu finds solace in the friendship of a girl named Lanhua, and she does her best to help her friend rise in the emperor's estimation. When the emperor dies and leaves only Lanhua's five-year-old son as his heir, Zhenxiu finds herself as the de facto ruler of China, a position she was never trained to occupy. As she leans more and more on Lanhua for help, she slowly comes to realize that Lanhua's ambition has no bounds. An ambition that could get them both killed. The Other Empress is a riveting historical drama that brings to light the story of an empress who stood at the helm of the Qing Dynasty for more than twenty years. An empress overshadowed by the strong presence of the woman who would prove to be her dearest friend-and her most dangerous rival.

In this exciting novel from USA Today best-selling author Amanda Roberts, the story of the slow march toward the fall of the Qing Dynasty comes to life in vivid detail, revealing a world of love, sex, ambition, and intrigue surrounding the world of empresses, princesses, consorts, and concubines, and the emperors they served. History books may tell about the fall of the Qing Dynasty. But they haven't told my story... Born to a family of wealth and privilege, Zhenxiu was trained from a young age to become the wife of a very powerful man, though she prayed it would not be Prince Yizhu, the future Xianfeng Emperor, a man with cruel and salacious appetites. The sudden death of the prince's consort, however, thrusts fifteen-year-old Zhenxiu into the prince's bed and the center of the Qing Court, a court still reeling from the aftershocks of the Opium War. Zhenxiu finds solace in the friendship of a girl named Lanhua, and she does her best to help her friend rise in the emperor's estimation. When the emperor dies and leaves only Lanhua's five-year-old son as his heir, Zhenxiu finds herself as the de facto ruler of China, a position she was never trained to occupy. As she leans more and more on Lanhua for help, she slowly comes to realize that Lanhua's ambition has no bounds. An ambition that could get them both killed. The Other Empress is a riveting historical drama that brings to light the story of an empress who stood at the helm of the Qing Dynasty for more than twenty years. An empress overshadowed by the strong presence of the woman who would prove to be her dearest friend--and her most dangerous rival.

Such is the voice of Shan Sa's unforgettable heroine in her latest literary masterpiece, Empress. Empress Wu, one of China's most controversial figures, was its first and only female emperor, who emerged in the seventh century during the great Tang Dynasty and ushered in a golden age. Throughout history, her name has been defamed and her story distorted by those taking vengeance on a woman who dared to become emperor. But now, for the first time in thirteen centuries, Empress Wu (or Heavenlight, as we come to know her) flings open the gates of the Forbidden City and tells her own astonishing tale—revealing a fascinating, complex figure who in many ways remains modern to this day. Writing with epic assurance, poetry, and vivid historic detail, Shan Sa plumbs the psychological and philosophical depths of what it means to be a striving mortal in a tumultuous, power-hungry world. Empress is a great literary feat and a revelation for the ages.

From the beloved, internationally bestselling author of Wild Swans, and co-author of the bestselling Mao: The Unknown Story, the dramatic, epic biography of the unusual woman who ruled China for 50 years, from concubine to Empress, overturning centuries of traditions and formalities to bring China into the modern world. A woman, an Empress of immense wealth who was largely a prisoner within the compound walls of her palaces, a mother, a ruthless enemy, and a brilliant strategist: Chang makes a compelling case that Cixi was one of the most formidable and enlightened rulers of any nation. Cixi led an intense and singular life. Chosen at the age of 12 to be a concubine by the Emperor Xianfeng, she gave birth to his only male heir who at four was designated Emperor when his father died in 1861. In a brilliant move, the young woman enlisted the help of the Emperor's widow and the two women orchestrated a coup that ousted the regents and made Cixi sole Regent. Untrained and untaught, the two studied history and politics together, ruling the huge nation from behind a curtain. When her boy died, Cixi designated a young nephew as Emperor, continuing her reign till her death in 1908. Chang gives us a complex, riveting portrait of Cixi through a reign as long as that of her fellow Empress, Victoria, whom she longed to meet: her ruthlessness in fighting off rivals; her curiosity to learn; her reliance on Westerners who she placed in key positions; and her sensitivity and desire to preserve the distinctiveness of China's past while overturning traditions (she, as Chang reveals--not Mao, as he claimed--banned footbinding) and exposing its culture to western ideas and technology.

Nicola Lancaster is spending her summer at the Siegel Institute, a hothouse of smart, intense teenagers. She soon falls in with Katrina (Manic Computer Chick), Isaac (Nice-Guy-Despite-Himself), Kevin (Inarticulate Composer) . . . and Battle, a beautiful blond dancer. The two become friends--and then, startlingly, more than friends. What do you do when you think you're attracted to guys, and then you meet a girl who steals your heart? A trailblazing debut, reissued with an introduction by acclaimed author David Levithan, and copious back matter, including three graphic novel stories by Sara Ryan (and artists Steve Leiber, Dylan Meconis, and Natalie Nourigat) about the characters.

To save her family, one girl will sacrifice her very identity. Living in poverty in the shadow of the Forbidden City, Daiyu never imagined that the life of the emperor would impact her own. But a chance meeting with a girl who looks exactly like her changes everything. Daiyu's family is offered enough money to support them for life if she only agrees to take the stranger's place at the emperor's selection for new consorts. In order to pull off the ruse, Daiyu must abandon everything she ever knew and become a completely different person, a person she despises. And if she fails, if she is discovered, she will be guilty of treason and put to death. Daiyu cannot allow her family to suffer if it is within her power to save them, so she strikes the deadly bargain. But living within the Forbidden City is even more dangerous than she imagined... In this incredible retelling of The Princess and the Pauper, based on true events, authors Zoey Gong and Amanda Roberts bring to life the opulent and dangerous world of imperial consorts trapped within the great red walls of the Forbidden City.