Il Quartetto Shogun Serie

Ordine di lettura consigliato

1. The shogun's queen

   • Lesley Downer

   • 544pagine
   • 20 ore di lettura

   Only one woman can save her world from barbarian invasion but to do so will mean sacrificing everything she holds dear - love, loyalty and maybe life itself . . . Japan, and the year is 1853. Growing up among the samurai of the Satsuma Clan, in Japan's deep south, the fiery, beautiful and headstrong Okatsu has - like all the clan's women - been encouraged to be bold, taught to wield the halberd, and to ride a horse. But when she is just seventeen, four black ships appear. Bristling with cannon and manned by strangers who to the Japanese eyes are barbarians, their appearance threatens Japan's very existence. And turns Okatsu's world upside down. Chosen by her feudal lord, she has been given a very special role to play. Given a new name - Princess Atsu - and a new destiny, she is the only one who can save the realm. Her journey takes her to Edo Castle, a place so secret that it cannot be marked on any map. There, sequestered in the Women's Palace - home to three thousand women, and where only one man may enter: the shogun - she seems doomed to live out her days. But beneath the palace's immaculate facade, there are whispers of murders and ghosts. It is here that Atsu must complete her mission and discover one last secret - the secret of the man whose fate is irrevocably linked to hers: the shogun himself . . .

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2. L'ultima concubina

   • Lesley Downer

   • 530pagine
   • 19 ore di lettura

   Япония, 1861 г. Израснала далече в планините на Япония, Сачи винаги се е чувствала различна, бледата й кожа и фините черти са я отличавали от нейните приятели и семейството. Тя е само на единайсет, когато една принцеса от императорския двор минава през нейното село и я взема в женския дворец в големия град Едо, преобръщайки живота й с главата надолу. Врящ от интриги и съперничества, дворецът е дом на три хиляди жени и само един мъж — младият шогун. Сачи е избрана за негова наложница. Но Япония се променя. От Запад идват черни кораби, а с тях и чужденци, желаещи да присъединят Япония към своите колониални империи. С избухването на гражданската война Сачи взема живота си в свои ръце. Спасена от воин бунтар, тя се влюбва. Но преди да се осмели да мечтае за живот с него, тя трябва да разбули мистерията своя произход — мистерия, криеща ужасно зло, което може да я съсипе.

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3. Il kimono rosso

   • Lesley Downer

   • 421pagine
   • 15 ore di lettura

   Hana indossa il kimono da cerimonia; i capelli lunghi fino a terra sono spalmati d'olio e raccolti in un'acconciatura ordinata, come vuole la tradizione. Saluta il capitano Yamaguchi, suo marito, che sta partendo per combattere i ribelli del sud e difendere lo shogun e il suo paese. Malgrado non sia innamorata del capitano, la giovane e bella Hana si è sempre comportata secondo le consuetudini, per sentirsi adeguata al suo ruolo di moglie. Rimasta sola, custodisce la casa mentre lo scontro tra i ribelli e l'esercito imperiale si avvicina e si inferocisce, sempre più sanguinoso e violento. Ora anche Hana è in pericolo e, nonostante sappia usare con maestria la spada giapponese, deve arrendersi e fuggire. Un breve viaggio pieno di ostacoli, al termine del quale viene accolta dai colori, i suoni e i profumi di Yoshiwara, il quartiere del piacere di Tokyo. Una casa per cortigiane diventa il suo rifugio, e la vita della donna prende una direzione imprevista. Inizialmente intenzionata a raggiungere suo marito, Hana trova nella casa un calore umano che mai aveva conosciuto e viene a poco a poco attratta dall'atmosfera vitale del quartiere. Scoprendo dentro di sé una sensualità fino a quel momento ignorata, si trasforma in una perfetta cortigiana e assapora per la prima volta il gusto della libertà e il sottile piacere della seduzione. Ma è Yozo, un coraggioso soldato, a cambiarle definitivamente la vita.

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4. The Samurai's Daughter

   • Lesley Downer

   • 560pagine
   • 20 ore di lettura

   In 1870s Japan, Taka and Nobu meet as children and fall in love, but their relationship challenges societal norms. Following a civil war, Japan is modernizing with rickshaws, railways, and educational reforms. Social mobility allows commoners to marry across classes, and the historical animosities seem to fade. Taka belongs to the influential southern Satsuma clan, led by her father, General Kitaoka, while Nobu hails from the northern Aizu clan, once decimated by the Satsuma forces. Their love must remain secret due to family enmity, but unforeseen events shift the balance of power. Discontent brews among southern samurai, stripped of their swords and honor by the new regime. Taka's father returns to Kyushu, where unrest is escalating. As he and his clan rebel, the government deploys its new army, which includes Nobu and his brothers seeking revenge against the Satsuma. Caught in a web of loyalty and love, Nobu faces the possibility of fighting Taka's father and brother, while Taka is forced to choose between her family and her heart.

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