The Last Empress Book Review

The one word that kept going through my mind as I read the sequel to Empress Orchid was depressing. The Last Empress was a great book despite that I describe it as depressing. It wasn't like Anchee Min could make the story more blissful since it was an account of actual events.

The Last Empress picks up from where Empress Orchid left off. Emperor Hsien Feng has died, but before his death he named his only son, Tung Chih as the heir to the throne of China. However, Tung Chih is just a child when he acquires the throne, so Empress Nuharoo and Orchid are the one's that rule on behalf of the child. There was constant conflict between Nuharoo and Orchid on how Tung Chih should be raised. Orchid was Tung's mother, but Nuharoo was the high ranking Empress so she got her way most of the time.

Tung Chih favored Nuharoo over Orchid, because Nuharoo spoiled him. Orchid tried to prepare her son to be an Emperor, but he was not interested in being a ruler. His cousin, Tsai-chen, introduced him to brothels where Tung caught a venereal disease. Eventually, Tung's brothel visits claim his life. Orchid was devastated losing her son and China lost another ruler.

Orchid and Nuharoo were left to pick another heir. They choose Guang-hsu, which was Orchid's sister's son. Again, the chosen Emperor was a child so Orchid and Nuharoo ran China until Guang-hsu was old enough to take over. However, Emperor Guang-hsu was not a strong leader. China's empire fell apart and foreigners attacked.

An-te-hai, Orchid's favorite and most faithful eunuch, died. Empress Nuharoo died and many secrets were revealed before she passed away. She felt she must clear her conscious before she passed. Empress Orchid was left to rule China and never really gets to retire. She was the leader of China up until her death at the age of 73. Before Empress Orchid died, she named a ruler, because Emperor Guang-hsu died before she did. Yung Lu's grandson, Puyi. What happens to China after Empress Orchid passed just gets more depressing.

Despite all the death and sadness of the story that Anchee Min tells, she writes in great detail and emotion. It was very interesting to read about the Ch'ing Dynasty and how life was for royalty. Becoming an Empress sounded glamorous and Orchid thought the life as a royal would be fabulous, but reality of being royalty wasn't so great. The loneliness would make a girl go crazy and I couldn't imagine having to run a whole country or have the responsibility of so many lives. The Last Empress details the frustration, difficulties and the balancing act of ruling a country. And I think Empress Orchid did the best she could for China.

I really enjoyed The Last Empress. I did want to read something cheerful and have happiness happen for Orchid, i.e., her and Yung Lu able to have a love affair or that the chosen Emperors were able to bring China back to a prosperous country, something that was joyful and not depressing. But I knew that Anchee Min was retelling history, which was grime. Reading The Last Empress, this has sparked an interest in history for me. I want to read more about other events of the past.