It is also a life with very strict rules about behaviour, lots of warrior training, and lavish clothes and beauty regimes. There are 3000 women, and only one man, so it is therefore quite an honour if you catch the attention of the young shogun as Sachi does.

It is a very disciplined life in the women's court. Sachi is a young girl who is plucked from a rural village and sent to be a maid in the shogun's palace in Edo (which we now know of as Tokyo). Where the Western world was hurtling headlong into the Industrial age, Japan was a land of ancient rituals. Japan in the mid 1800's was still very much a feudal society, still functioning in the ways of the emperor and the shogun, that is until the country was split into north and south factions and fought a very bloody civil war. From the timeless beauty of the women's palace in Edo to bloody battles fought outside its walls, The Last Concubine is an epic evocation of a country in revolution, and of a young woman's quest to find out who she really is.įrom the timeless beauty of the Women’s Palace in Edo to bloody battles fought outside its walls, The Last Concubine is an epic evocation of a country in revolution, and of a young woman’s quest to find out who she really is. Set in one of the most tumultuous eras in Japanese history, Sachi's story is a potent mix of adventure and high romance. But before she dare dream of a life with him, Sachi must unravel the mystery of her own origins – a mystery that encompasses a wrong so terrible that it threatens to destroy her. Rescued by a rebel warrior, she finds unknown feelings stirring within her. As civil war erupts, Sachi flees for her life. Black Ships have come from the West, bringing foreigners eager to add Japan to their colonial empires. Sachi is chosen as his concubine.īut Japan is changing. Bristling with intrigue and erotic rivalries, the palace is home to three thousand women and only one man - the young shogun. Then, when she is just eleven, an imperial princess passes through her village and sweeps her off to the women's palace in the great city of Edo. Growing up deep in the mountains of rural Japan, Sachi has always felt different, her pale skin and fine features setting her apart from her friends and family. How do you fall in love when your society has no word for it?Īn epic novel closely based on historical events, The Last Concubine is the story of a shogun, a princess and the three thousand women of the women’s palace - all of whom really existed - and of the civil war that brought their way of life to an end.

The Last Concubine by Lesley Downer