The Shogun’s Queen

By Lesley Downer,

Book cover of The Shogun’s Queen

Book description

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,…

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Why read it?

1 author picked The Shogun’s Queen as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Japan was ejected from centuries of tranquil isolation by the arrival of the American Commodore Perry’s menacing ‘Black Ships’ in 1853, and then began the tumultuous decades from which modern Japan emerged. With deep knowledge born of many years living in Japan, Lesley Downer has wrested four wonderfully romantic yarns from this fascinating era, of which The Shogun’s Queen is the first: the tale, rooted in true events, of how a brave woman from Japan’s deep south risks all to save the old regime.

From Peter's list on modern Japan.

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