Originally aired April 11, 2007.
Maureen Cavanaugh (Guest Host): Anchee Min's best-selling novel, Empress Orchid, tells the story of how a young girl from the Chinese countryside ended up a concubine in the imperial palace of Peking. Full of political intrigue and opulence, the novel ends with Orchid maneuvering her way into the very seat of power. A story about such a woman could hardly end there. Min's new novel, The Last Empress , follows Orchid as she guides a China threatened by both European aggressors and peasant rebellions. Orchid has become a keen political strategist but she shows her vulnerabilities as she faces devastating personal loss and sacrifice.
Guest
- Anchee Min, acclaimed author of Red Azalea and Empress Orchid . Her newest work of historical fiction picks up where Empress Orchid left off. It's called The Last Empress .
