Shortlisted for the Romantic Novel of the Year 2009.
Straddling the civil war in Japan in the mid-19th century, this is the story of an adopted girl, Sachi, who rises to be the chief concubine of the Shogun. The ladies of the court are protected from the extraordinary upheavals in the country but eventually the palace is destroyed and the ladies scattered. There is a lot of history here, particularly social, which one would expect from this author who has written many books about Japan and its culture. This is her first novel.
Comparison: Arthur Golden, Anchee Min, Lisa See.
| Primary Genre | Historical Fiction |
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Win an Escape Challenge and a copy of The Spy and the Snake by M J Robotham
Closing date: 02/08/2026
How do you fall in love when your society has no word for it? The Last Concubine is an epic love story closely based on historical events, chronicling 19th century Japan’s extraordinary change from a medieval to a modern country. This 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 ...
Japan, 1865: the women’s palace in the great city of Edo is a sprawling complex much like a middle-eastern harem. Bristling with intrigue and erotic rivalries, the palace is home to three thousand women and only one man - the young shogun. Sachi, a beautiful fifteen-year-old girl, is chosen as his concubine.
But Japan is changing. Black Ships have arrived from the West, bringing foreigners eager to add Japan to their colonial empires. As civil war erupts, Sachi flees for her life. Rescued by a rebel warrior, she finds unknown feelings stirring within her; but this is a world in which private passions have no place and there is not even a word for ‘love’. 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 ....
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.
The Last Concubine features in the following genres: Historical Fiction, eBooks of the Month, Debut Books of the Month, Romance / Relationship Stories, Fiction, Recommendations
The Last Concubine is available in Paperback, Hardback
The Last Concubine was written by Lesley Downer and published by Transworld Publishers Ltd
The Last Concubine has 622 pages
£16.19
