If there is one woman who mattered in the history of modern China, it is the empress dowager Cixi…[Her] conventional image is queried in this detailed and beautifully narrated biography, which at long last restores the empress dowager to her rightful place. Chang’s book relies heavily on the vast holdings in the imperial archives in Beijing... She has a wonderful eye for the telling detail and excels at unravelling palace intrigues and corridor politics.
Frank Dikotter, Sunday Times
In this vivid biography, as colourful and intricate as the embroidery on a Chinese robe, [Jung Chang] uses new evidence and meticulous research to cast a spotlight on the amazing woman she regards as the mother of modern China…This is a rich, dramatic story of rebellions, battles, plotting, rivalry, foreign invasion, punishment and forbidden love.
Bel Mooney, Daily Mail
Filled with new revelations, it's a gripping and surprising story of an extraordinary woman in power. Using Chinese sources, totally untapped by western books, this reappraises one of the great monstresses of modern history... Jung Chang's revisionism means that this book reveals a new and different woman: ambitious, sometimes murderous, but pragmatic and unique. All of this adds up to make Empress Dowager Cixi a powerful read.
Simon Sebag Montefiore, BBC History Magazine
Chang has a proven Midas touch... Empress Dowager, by returning to female experience in the style of Wild Swans yet focusing, like Mao, on a controversial ruler, should appeal to fans of both.
Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Financial Times
Chang has a proven Midas touch... Empress Dowager, by returning to female experience in the style of Wild Swans yet focusing, like Mao, on a controversial ruler, should appeal to fans of both.
Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Financial Times
A captivating cradle-to-grave biography
VOGUE
In this vivid biography, as colourful and intricate as the embroidery on a Chinese robe, [Jung Chang] uses new evidence and meticulous research to cast a spotlight on the amazing woman she regards as the mother of modern China…This is a rich, dramatic story of rebellions, battles, plotting, rivalry, foreign invasion, punishment and forbidden love.
Bel Mooney, Daily Mail
An absorbing read.
Josh Neicho, Independent on Sunday
This is an important book, drawing attention to a period in China's history that has received little, and usually only negative, attention. Chang writes with verve, energy and evident concern for the country in which her books are proscribed and her family was made to suffer during the Cultural Revolution.
BBC History Magazine
An engaging and informed political biography … is sure to make waves around the world.
Holly McKenzie, Press Association
Well-researched and provocative… Spirited.
Rana Mitter, New Statesman
Page-turner of a biography.
Chris Patten, Mail on Sunday
Although most of Cixi's previous biographers have demonized her, others have been more measured. This is a spirited, if partisan contribution.
Isabel Hilton, Guardian
Chang has a novelists eye for the small detail, enthralling with her story of how a mere concubine .. came to power in China … both well researched and hugely accessible.
Business Post, Ireland
Jung Chang is a vivid guide… She has a novelist’s eye for the telling detail.
The Economist
Utterly beguiling.
Brighton & Hove Independent
Jung Chang comprehensively overturns the conventional view of Cixi as a diehard conservative and cruel despot... This biography may revolutionise thinking about a crucial period in China's history.
Asian Art Newspaper
This is an important book, drawing attention to a period in China's history that has received little, and usually only negative, attention. Chang writes with verve, energy and evident concern for the country in which her books are proscribed and her family was made to suffer during the Cultural Revolution.
BBC History Magazine
Fascinating… A depiction of the birth of modern China and an intimate portrait of a woman, this is history writing at its best
Ben Ridgeon, Haverhill Echo
A beautifully narrated biography… Chang has a wonderful eye for the telling detail
Frank Dikotter, Sunday Times
Groundbreaking.
Jersey Evening Post
Chang turns the harridan into a heroine.
Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, The Times
Filled with new revelations… Gripping and surprising… Powerful.
Simon Sebag Montefiore, Blackmore Vale Magazine
Absorbing… Chang has a novelist’s eye for small detail… Chang weaves a suspenseful, anecdote-laden tale.
Nadine Oâ??Regan and Anna Carey, Sunday Business Post
One of those rare non-fiction books that reads like a novel without compromising the quality of research – we couldn’t put it down
Topping & Co. Bookshop, Bath Chronicle
One of the most important authors of our age, in that she has shown China to the world.
Catholic Herald
This is an electrifying description of the birth of modern China and an intimate portrait of an extraordinary woman
Olivier Philip Ziegler, Good Book Guide
Chinese political history can be a tough nut to crack, but Chang weaves in and out of Cixi’s biography with an ease that is almost as astounding as the events themselves
Rosemary Maccabe, Irish Times
Paperback
9780099532392
July 1, 2014
Vintage
528 pages
Hardback
9780224087438
October 15, 2013
Jonathan Cape
464 pages
Trade Paperback
9780224087445
October 1, 2013
Jonathan Cape
464 pages
EBook
9781448191420
September 26, 2013
Vintage Digital
528 pages
