Richard Elegant pens a grand tale of intrigue in nineteenth-century China where imperial rule is crumbling as the Opium Wars and Taping Rebellion rage in the second novel of the New York Times bestselling Imperial China trilogy.Loyalty is put to a cruel test on the streets of Shanghai, where Jewish silk merchant Saul Heleevie tries to save his long-time Chinese business partner from a false accusation of ab ...Full description
Richard Elegant pens a grand tale of intrigue in nineteenth-century China where imperial rule is crumbling as the Opium Wars and Taping Rebellion rage in the second novel of the New York Times bestselling Imperial China trilogy.Loyalty is put to a cruel test on the streets of Shanghai, where Jewish silk merchant Saul Heleevie tries to save his long-time Chinese business partner from a false accusation of abomination in relation to his motherโs suicide and the brutal and corrupt penal system seeking to punish him.Meanwhile in the imperial palace, love and deception entwine as the โVirtuous Concubineโ Yehenala contrives to bear the opium-eating, syphilitic emperorโs only son in an effort to lay the foundation for her elevation to the pinnacle power in China as the formidable empress dowager.This compelling saga of nineteenth-century China is filled with โintricate shuttlecock diplomacy, ceremonial battle action, family saga romanceโall polished to an entertaining high glossโ (Kirkus Reviews).