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Beverley Jackson
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The Beautiful Lady Was A Palace Eunuch Paperback – June 9, 2011

by Beverley Jackson (Author)
4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 10 ratings
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Forbidden City
Previous page
  1. Print length
    170 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    June 9, 2011
  4. Dimensions
    5.51 x 0.37 x 8.5 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    1456511483
  6. ISBN-13
    978-1456511487
  7. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Beverley Jackson has lectured on Chinese customs and costumes across the United States as well as in Europe and Asia. She first visited China in 1975 and has since returned countless times to conduct research for her books. "An unexpected trip to China with Jayne Meadows and Steve Allen during the Cultural Revolution totally changed my life," notes the inveterate traveler. Her critically acclaimed Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of an Erotic Tradition chronicles the ancient Chinese practice of footbinding. Other titles include Kingfisher Blue, Shanghai Girl Gets All Dressed Up, and Ladder to the Clouds, a finalist for the Kiriyama Book Prize. She lives in Santa Barbara, California, with her beloved miniature wirehair dachshund, Rennie.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (June 9, 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 170 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1456511483
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1456511487
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.51 x 0.37 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars 10 ratings

About the author

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Beverley Jackson

Beverley Jackson

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Born in Los Angeles, an inveterate traveler, I ultimately moved to Santa Barbara, California, in 1963. My writing life began with a people column I wrote for the Santa Barbara News-Press for 22 years. In 1975, an unexpected trip to China during the Cultural Revolution with Jayne Meadows and Steve Allen totally changed my life.

One dark night in Shanghai, when my traveling companions were ill, there was nothing to do. We weren't allowed to take any reading material into China. No TV. I was wandering the halls of the Peace Hotel, studying the Art Deco elevator doors, the sconces, the radiator covers, totally bored, when a tiny waiter who spoke a bit of English whispered, "Go shopping...they open the friendship store for Polish sailors who sail tomorrow." So I took my flashlight (no cars were on roads then, so there were no lights at all anywhere) walked the five blocks, and ended up buying a lovely 19th-century Chinese women's robe.

That first robe led to building one of the major collections of antique Chinese clothing in United States. Researching this collection for lectures on life in 18th- and 19th-century China (which I've delivered in many museums in the United States, Hong Kong, Singapore, and China) led to my writing five nonfiction books. Now I'm doing something very adventuresome for an 82-year old. I've just self-published my first novel, "The Beautiful Lady was a Palace Eunuch."

And next, as my dear friend the late Julia Child told me when my first publishing venture, "Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of an Erotic Tradition," came out in 1998: "Now dear, you really have to work...you have to go out and sell your book!"

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
4.1 out of 5
10 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Kate Skate
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy read
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2021
Verified Purchase
This is a very short book that I read in about 2 hours. It was interesting & very easy to read. The ending was a bit strange.
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Dale Kern
4.0 out of 5 stars The Beautiful Lady Was A Palace Eunuch
Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2011
A quick and interesting read full of colorful and historically correct descriptions of a unique time in China. You can "see" the splendor and feel the sadness of an era of excess and repression and wonder just how a civilization could have such incredible riches and such beauty and yet be so cruel and controlling.
2 people found this helpful
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Cookey
3.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful story
Reviewed in the United States on April 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
Good story, really keeps your interest about eunuch life in the forbidden city. Ending a bit of a let down. Left me hanging
One person found this helpful
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SFdweller
5.0 out of 5 stars A Fascinating Story
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2011
A fascinating story that reveals so much about a little known subject. I enjoyed reading how Li adapted to life in the outside world during a time when China was experiencing great upheavals. I seriously had a hard time putting the book down once I started reading.

Also, I had no problem with downloading and reading the book on my iPhone Kindle app. The problem with the file must of been resolved. It appears to be safe to download now!
2 people found this helpful
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pip
1.0 out of 5 stars Seriously???????
Reviewed in the United States on July 30, 2012
Jackson does not write about Chinese culture- she writes about the sordid elements of Chinese culture that act as a canvas for her fantasies- opium dens, footbinding, eunuchs, organized crime and homosexuality. Jackson is only interested in the elements of Chinese culture that have shock value and has strung them together in a vapid, unauthentic, ridiculous tale. I am so tired of unknowledgeable authors Exploiting Chinese
culture, creating these orientalist fantasies for their own financial gain. This book is racist, and reads more like a "yellow peril" novel of 1919 than of anything an intelligent reader could take seriously. It is seriously...offensive. I wish I couldgive it less than one star.
2 people found this helpful
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Richard Mineards
4.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Lady Was a Palace Eunuch
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2011
A riveting look at old China, its traditions and its intrigues.
Ms. Jackson, who has written a number of factual books on the subject, has transitioned well into fiction.
This fast moving tale of eunuchs in the Forbidden City, featuring some most unusual murders accomplished with three-inch-long bound feet, would do Agatha Christie proud.
Sole searching, indeed!
2 people found this helpful
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Germaine
1.0 out of 5 stars Formatting Really Needs Cleaning Up
Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2011
I have downloaded this to my Kindle and to my iPad. Both versions mix formatting code with text, and the samples are unreadable. I have read several of Ms. Jackson's other books and was looking forward to this one. I will check back in a few weeks to see if the problem has been corrected.
One person found this helpful
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