Empress Orchid (Empress Orchid, #1)

Empress Orchid (2004) is a novel by Anchee Min which was first published in Great Britain in 2004. It is written in first person and is a sympathetic account of the life of Empress Dowager Cixi - from her humble beginnings to her rise as the Empress Dowager. Names within the story are different in spelling but retain the same pronunciation - allowing the reader to identify each relevant character to his or her real life counterpart. Empress Orchid was also a 2006 nominee for the Richard and Judy Best Read of the Year Award.