Published in 1956, Imperial Woman is the story of Tzu Hsi, the last Empress of China. This is the woman usually known to westerners as the Empress Dowager, or “Old Buddha.” She ranks in history with Victoria of England and Catherine of Russia. Indeed, Tzu Hsi liked to think of Victoria as her sister ruler and often remarked that they divided the world between them, Victoria, the Empress of the west, and she, the Empress of the East. Of the two, however, Tzu Hsi had the more romantic and extraordinary reign. She was born into violent and troubled times, in the last century of China’s empire. Already the West was compelling that ancient and impregnable country to face the modern age. Slow to change, entrenched in pride and tradition, the ruling dynasty of the Manchus was reluctant to realize the portent of the times. It was Tzu Hsi, this powerful and beautiful woman, who held the empire and the dynasty from the 1860s until her death in 1908 at the age of 74. The story of her life is pure romance.  This is a book club edition in reasonably good shape with fading, chipping, and some water damage.