It’s enjoyable as fiction but it’s not very historically accurate. I prefer historical fictions that are more historical than fictional – this one seemed to be more ficton than history.

I sipped rice wine and thought about what Nuharoo had said to me about her method of ahieving internal harmony: ‘Lie in the bed others have made, and walk in the shoes others have cobbled.’ The sentiment made very little sense to me. My life so far was a piece of embroidery with every stitch sewn by my own hands. (page 212)

I found this book on Jaynesmommy’s list. I had really enjoyed ‘Snow Flower and the Secret Fan’, a book about a Han Chinese woman. This book is about a Manchu Chinese woman and I thought it would be good to counter-balance the reading I’ve done so far with a different perspective.

This is historical fiction at its best. I never seem to be able to wade through non-fiction books about Chinese history, but this novel spoon-fed it to me. I was so seduced by the story that I never quite realised how much I was learning until the very end.

Author Anchee Min leads introduces the reader to a complex and fabulous world, the Emperors court in the Ch’ing Dynasty of China, seen through the eyes of Orchid. She’s an ordinary Manchu girl who aspires to be a wife of the Emperor of China, even though her family is destitute and practically homeless. Orchid does achieve her goal, but the court unstable and treacherous. The Ch’ing Dynasty is in decline and the young Emperor both ill and ill-at-ease in his powerful role.

In the court, six wives and thousands of concubines compete for the attention of one, very powerful man. Orchid takes matters into her own hands and bribes an attendant in order to get close to the Emperor. Ambitious and extremely bright, Orchid becomes an indispensable confidant and secretary to her husband. She bears him a son and becomes increasingly involved in the governmental affairs of her country.

The focus on international affairs could have made for a dry book, but the author mixes history and politics with a vibrant and fast-moving plot to keep things fresh and interesting. The characters are lively (in particular, I was grateful for Orchid’s sharp intelligence and ambition) and the book is well-written.

The result is an interesting and educational foray into Chinese history. If this topic interests you, it’s a worthy read.