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The Shogun's Queen: The Shogun Quartet, Book 1 Paperback – July 27, 2017

by Lesley Downer (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 516 ratings
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The year is 1853, and a young Japanese girl’s world is about to be turned upside down.

When black ships carrying barbarians arrive on the shores of Japan, the Satsuma clan’s way of life is threatened. But it’s not just the samurai who must come together to fight: the beautiful, headstrong Okatsu is also given a new destiny by her feudal lord – to save the realm.

Armed only with a new name, Princess Atsu, as she is now known, journeys to the women’s palace of Edo Castle, a place so secret it cannot be marked on any map. Behind the palace’s immaculate façade, amid rumours of murder and whispers of ghosts, Atsu must uncover the secret of the man whose fate, it seems, is irrevocably linked to hers – the shogun himself – if she is to rescue her people . . .
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Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 4
    Shogun Quartet Book 1
  2. Print length
    544 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Corgi
  5. Publication date
    July 27, 2017
  6. Dimensions
    7.8 x 5 x 1.28 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    055216349X
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0552163491
  9. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Corgi; 1st edition (July 27, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 544 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 055216349X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0552163491
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 13 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.8 x 5 x 1.28 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 516 ratings

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Lesley Downer

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
516 global ratings
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Top reviews from the United States

Margaret Goettelmann
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Historical fiction
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2024
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If you are interested in this period of Japanese history you will enjoy this book.
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corinna schabbel
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2017
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Very interesting information about the life and history of Japan.
One person found this helpful
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Erin Hurley-Rosser
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Story Based on History
Reviewed in the United States on March 22, 2022
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I'm not a historian, and I'm not some sort of snob when it comes to books. I like what I like. Japan and it's history is a passing interest for me, and Lesley Downer's name usually comes up so I thought I'd look into her. The first book I'd heard about was actually the second book in this series, so I figured I'd start with the first, which was "The Shogun's Queen".

This book, to me, is very rich and beautiful. I didn't expect a literary masterpiece, but what I was hoping for was something I could escape in to when I needed a break from...well...*gestures to the current world situation*...all THAT.

Lesley Downer did an excellent job of writing engaging characters and pulling me in from the start.

There were a few things I wish had been fleshed out more, but overall it didn't detract from the storytelling for me.

This isn't what I would suggest as your latest "beach read", but for a long, cold winter, this one might be right up your alley!!
2 people found this helpful
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Hunkuserectus
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2021
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No wrinkled pages or misprinting
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Landre Helene
4.0 out of 5 stars Loved it!
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2017
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Very enlightening about Japanese culture. Loved it!
One person found this helpful
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Bloomin' Brilliant Books
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating, intriguing and emotionally charged
Reviewed in the United States on September 22, 2017
I’ve been intrigued by Geisha’s and Japanese culture for a while – I loved Golden’s Memoirs of a Geisha and adore Madame Butterfly – but my knowledge of Japan’s history is extremely limited. When I was asked if I would like to read and review Lesley Downer’s The Shogun’s Queen I didn’t hesitate to agree. It has taken me a while to get around to reading it and now I have I will definitely be reading Downer’s other books in The Shogun Quartet of which this is the first. Downer has opened up my curiosity about Japanese culture and I want to know more, always a good sign in historical fiction.

Based on historical fact, The Shogun’s Queen is set in Japan in 1853 and follows the life of Okatsu from the Satsuma clan. A turbulent time in the country’s existence, Japan finds itself being opened up to the Western world when ships begin to appear from America, Britain and Russia. Okatsu finds herself thrust into a position in which her influence can directly impact and influence Japan’s ability to maintain its tradition and culture and whether or not the country becomes embroiled in war.

Okatsu is incredibly well portrayed and she is immensely likeable. This courageous, selfless young woman who gives up everything for her country is an amazing character and is made even more amazing as she actually existed. As pointed out in the Afterword, Downer advises that the women of Japanese history are largely ignored and yet Okatsu was an integral part of that history.

Downer has written a captivating account of an elusive and secretive world. Her prose is such that she fully draws you into this society and every part of The Shogun’s Queen is meticulously portrayed. From the thoughts and feelings unique to their culture to the descriptions of the surroundings, you are completely immersed in the book. It had me considering viewpoints that I wouldn’t have thought about without reading it. It is sumptuous and beautiful and yet also captures the underlying disadvantages of those women living in, what is essentially, a luxurious prison.

Downer clearly knows a lot about Japanese culture and history and her careful and considered research comes through to create an accessible, fascinating, insightful book. As I stated earlier, The Shogun’s Queen has whet my appetite to find out more about this era in Japan.

The intrigue had me completely gripped and enthralled. Okatsu has an impossible task and I was desperately hoping that she would be successful in her task. I didn’t want The Shogun’s Queen to end and when it did I was left feeling bereft. It is one of those books that leaves an indelible mark on you and has you thinking about it for days afterwards.

A wonderfully written, fascinating, all absorbing account of a critical turning point in Japanese history. Full of political intrigue and yet emotionally charged, The Shogun’s Queen is an epic tale that I have no doubt those who enjoy historical fiction will love as much as I did.
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Jennifer
4.0 out of 5 stars perfect book for readers interested in Japanese culture and history
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2017
The Shogun’s Queen provides a fascinating history of Japan as seen through the eyes of a highly placed woman in the age of the shogun, in a time when Westerners were encroaching on the island, forcing Japan to open its tightly sealed borders to foreign traders and settlers.
Rich in detail, the author creates a world of princesses, shoguns and emperors that lives and breathes. There is plenty of intrigue and back door politics. The preparations for war and tactics used by the Japanese to defend themselves are also well described. As a Dutch citizen, it was also interesting to learn more about the relationship between Japan and the Netherlands from a Japanese perspective.
A captivating and engrossing read, The Shogun’s Queen is the perfect book for readers interested in Japanese culture and history.
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Anita C
2.0 out of 5 stars Product arrived in rough shape. Damaged
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2022
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The book was damaged and discolored right out of the box.
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Anita C
2.0 out of 5 stars Product arrived in rough shape. Damaged
Reviewed in the United States on March 4, 2022
The book was damaged and discolored right out of the box.
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Top reviews from other countries

Kevin
5.0 out of 5 stars Nineteenth-century Japan brought to life
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 11, 2017
Verified Purchase
“The Shogun’s Queen” is a remarkable evocation of nineteenth-century Japan. The author deploys a mastery of historical detail, and a narrative flair that enlivens the world she describes. The women attending the Shogun’s mother are “as shrunken and shrivelled as autumn leaves”. The prime minister’s “shoulders slumped and his eyebrows rose until they disappeared under the stiff black starch of his headdress”. The heroine’s youthful lover “carried with him the winds of Kyushu, the sweet scent of ocean and mountains, palm trees and blue skies, purple volcanoes, the vast plains he’d galloped across to be here.” Downer is especially good at describing great state occasions, combining period detail with compelling images, as in: “. . . the chambermaids brought in a jar of ground gallnuts and iron filings, a jug of warm vinegar, a basin and a palette. Yasu mixed the bitter gall and iron with the vinegar, dipped her brush in the dark liquid and carefully painted Atsu’s teeth one by one until they shone like black lacquer.” The vividly drawn scenes include key events in the history of Japan, such as the first meeting between the Shogun and the representative of a foreign power – US Consul Townsend Harris, in December 1857. Readers who have not already done so will be prompted to read the other titles in Lesley Downer’s “Shogun Quartet”. With these novels, she has performed the remarkable feat of bringing a vanished world back to life.
4 people found this helpful
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mary mcguire
2.0 out of 5 stars GOOD WORK
Reviewed in Australia on May 9, 2017
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too many words - inclined to too much repetition - but a very informative history novel. Appreciated by a reader who has spent time visiting/ living in Japan a long time ago
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JET
4.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing and full of atmosphere
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 29, 2019
Verified Purchase
Atmospheric and well researched. The lives of both the male and female characters and their multiple obligations and restrictions are wonderfully conveyed as are the artefacts and splendour of the ruling classes. I hadn’t known about the adoption process but it sounds remarkably sensible! A far better system than simple primogeniture. Why four stars and not five? It is probably unfair, but learning about the real female character destroyed the story for me. The fact that she had to be torn from her status indicates that the real person was not at all like her invented character. I would have preferred that the imagined character and the personality of the real woman had been kept separate. Sometimes we long to be left with our dreams! If they are to be juxtaposed then the imagined woman should have represented the real one, and clearly she doesn’t. This really spoilt the book for me. Either there is historical accuracy or there is a novel; in this case I don’t feel it is fair to try to have both.
5 people found this helpful
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Angela A.
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 28, 2022
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Could not put this book down, brilliantly written
One person found this helpful
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Al
4.0 out of 5 stars In health Japan
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2020
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Not since James Cavell's Shogun have I read such a story dealing with that all time ' Disney world' which is, 24-7 without doubt, the strangest society on the planet. Japan never stops being different. The attention to detail in this book is incredible.
One person found this helpful
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