WINNER of the 2019 Novel London award

18th century China. In a devastating breach of etiquette, the Empress of China cuts off her hair and is exiled by a furious Emperor to ‘the cold palace’. Historians still do not know what caused her to take this step.

Ula Nara is a happy sixteen-year-old, in love and betrothed. But before she can be married, she must attend the Imperial Daughters’ Draft. When she is chosen as a bride to the heir to the throne, her beloved vows to become a monk, while Ula Nara must face a lifetime of regret. Determined to make her pain worth something, she aims for the pinnacle of success: to become Empress. But perhaps being an Empress is not worth as much as she thought and happiness may lie in the simpler things.

If you loved Memoirs of a Geisha and enjoy books by Anchee Min, Lisa See and Pearl S. Buck, then the Forbidden City series is for you. Based on real women in 18th century China who became concubines to emperors of the Qing dynasty and spent their lives in the Forbidden City, this is historical fiction at its most intriguing, gripping and romantic.

Her characters walk and talk and behave as do real people. Discovering Diamonds

Melissa Addey meticulously evokes a strange, beautiful and harsh society. Emma Darwin, author of Writing Historical Fiction

Five star reviews from Amazon readers
I couldn’t put it down and was up into the wee hours reading!
Bittersweet tale of love lost and found.
Enjoy this beautiful journey.
As is so often with her stories I am brought to tears more than once for some of her characters. Ula Nara is one such. They are extremely human and believable.
You feel as if you were part of the story.
As always the writing is flawless and the imagery is beautiful.

Want to watch a book trailer for this title?
Just scroll down on the US site, visit my Amazon author page on the UK site or come to my own website which has all my book trailers. Happy viewing!

About author Melissa Addey
You can read about me and my books (and get a free novella) on my website, MelissaAddey.com. I mainly write historical fiction, focusing on the Forbidden City in China’s 18th century (now complete) and Morocco in the 11th century (completing soon). Next up, Ancient Rome! I’m in the final year of my Creative Writing PhD and was the 2016 Leverhulme Trust Writer in Residence at the British Library. In 2019 I won the Page to Podcast competition as well as the Novel London award.