I fell in love with the mind of Madame Wu. The cultural history for such a decision is exposed throughout the novel. Madame Wu on her fortieth birthday claimed my attention immediately for her decision to get a concubine for her husband as she did not want to risk pregnancy at her advanced age. I had forgotten how engaging Buck's writing is. Buck as I had read The Good Earth many years ago. This book was my reintroduction to the writing of Pearl S. Quite a character, as she was depicted in the novel, and she was quite the character in life. I started with Imperial Woman and learned about the Empress Dowager Cixi. Pearl Buck has done a remarkable and painstaking job in recreating her.” - Saturday Review

“Certainly, no fictioneer could imagine a more incredible woman. . . . quite absorbing” New York Times bestseller, Buck brings to life the story of Tzu Hsi, the magnetic and fierce-minded woman who rose from concubine to become the working head of the Qing Dynasty and the last empress of China for nearly half a century ( The Nation ). Imperial Woman : In this “richly woven . . .

“ Peony has the vividness of scene and episode and character and the colorful detail that readers have come to expect of her novels in China.” - New York Herald Tribune As the couple’s traditions collide, their relationship faces opposition from every side. Peony : A young Chinese bondmaid in nineteenth-century China falls in love with the son of the wealthy Jewish family she works for. A fine, full flavorsome novel.” - Newsweek After Madame Wu turns forty, she encourages her husband to take a young concubine so she can finally begin to discover her own mind-and a new world opens up before her as she reads forbidden books and studies English with a progressive former priest.

Pavilion of Women : This “vivid and extremely interesting novel,” set in early twentieth-century China, follows an upper-class wife’s quest for personal freedom ( The New Yorker ). They evoke the simple beauty of the characters and the harsh mystery of China’s ancient culture.” The daughter of missionaries, the New York Times –bestselling author would continue to explore many aspect of Chinese culture in her work, and the three novels collected in this volume represent some of her most compassionate and revealing fiction. I just love the quiet rhythm of the words. Upon choosing Buck’s novel for her book club in 2004, Oprah Winfrey said: “Reading Pearl Buck’s writing feels like reading poetry to me. Buck became the first woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature for The Good Earth, which had already earned her the Pulitzer Prize. From the Nobel Prize–winning author of The Good Earth : These three novels are fascinating portraits of women in China.

Imperial woman by pearl s buck