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Exiled from the Chinese emperor's court to the barbaric land of the Hsiung-nu, Silver Snow uses her wits and magic skills to protect herself and her husband from the tribal shaman.Tags
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Imperial Lady by Andre Norton and Susan Schwartz is a historical fantasy that was first published in 1989. It is based on an actual piece of Chinese history about a Han princess that was sent into the west to marry and cement a treaty with the Mongols in or around 40 BC.
By taking this story and enlarging on the characters and adding a touch of magic, they have produced a spellbinding tale about Silver Snow, daughter of a disgraced general who accepts her fate to be used as a political tool in a marriage to an aging barbarian chief and, who works to bring both honour to her family and also to avert a war. She is accompanied by her maid, Willow, who is a magical being. She can turn into a fox and talk to the small animals, she has a vast show more knowledge of spells and herbs to assist her lady. They need all of Willows skills to fight the barbarian’s first wife, who is working her black magic against them in order to secure her son as the heir. She would like to wipe out both her husband and this new wife.
Imperial Lady was my introduction to the writing of Andre Norton and I thoroughly enjoyed this light, quick fantasy read. Descriptive, lyrical language unfolds a tale that totally absorbed me from start to finish. It nicely combined history with fantasy and added a touch of romance to deliver a fun story about a dainty Chinese lady who became a barbarian queen. show less
By taking this story and enlarging on the characters and adding a touch of magic, they have produced a spellbinding tale about Silver Snow, daughter of a disgraced general who accepts her fate to be used as a political tool in a marriage to an aging barbarian chief and, who works to bring both honour to her family and also to avert a war. She is accompanied by her maid, Willow, who is a magical being. She can turn into a fox and talk to the small animals, she has a vast show more knowledge of spells and herbs to assist her lady. They need all of Willows skills to fight the barbarian’s first wife, who is working her black magic against them in order to secure her son as the heir. She would like to wipe out both her husband and this new wife.
Imperial Lady was my introduction to the writing of Andre Norton and I thoroughly enjoyed this light, quick fantasy read. Descriptive, lyrical language unfolds a tale that totally absorbed me from start to finish. It nicely combined history with fantasy and added a touch of romance to deliver a fun story about a dainty Chinese lady who became a barbarian queen. show less
My review disappeared during saving, so I am writing only a brief review (and now know to use a word processor so I can copy and paste). I like anthropology, history, and fantasy. This story depicts Asian cultures and folklore, is based on a historical personage, and is a fantasy. With all that and also good writing, I enjoyed it.
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Author Information
Born Alice Mary Norton on February 17, 1912 in Cleveland, Ohio, she legally changed her name to Andre Alice Norton in 1934. She attended the Flora Stone Mather College of Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve) for a year then took evening courses in journalism and writing that were offered by Cleveland College, the adult division of show more the same university. Norton was a librarian for the Cleveland Library System then a reader at Gnome Press. After that position, she became a full-time writer. She is most noted for writing fantasy, in particular the Witch World series. Her first book The Prince of Commands was published in 1934. Other titles include Ralestone Luck, Magic in Ithkar, Voorloper, Uncharted Stars, The Gifts of Asti and All Cats are Gray. She also wrote under the pen names Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston She was the first woman to receive the Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and the Nebula Grand Master Award. She has also received a Phoenix Award for overall writing achievement, a Jules Verne Award, and a Science Fiction Book Club Book of the Year Award for her title The Elvenbane. In 1997 she was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. She died on March 17, 2005. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Some Editions
Series
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Imperial Lady
- Original title
- Imperial Lady
- Original publication date
- 1989-08
- People/Characters
- Chao Chun / Silver Snow; Chao Kuang (Silver Snow's father); Khujanga; Li Ling; Strong Tongue; Vughtoroi (show all 9); Willow; Mao Yen-shou; Yuan Ti / Son of Heaven
- Important places
- Xian, China
- First words
- Vivid bronze and green against the slanting rays of the winter sun, the pheasant darted up from its cover in a flurry of snow.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)It held a suit of jade armor, cunningly fashioned with delicate gold wire, mate to the suit that, years ago, Lady Silver Snow had presented to the Son of Heaven.
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Statistics
- Members
- 241
- Popularity
- 134,221
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.53)
- Languages
- English, Polish, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 3
