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The Courtesan and the Samurai

The Shogun Quartet, Book 3
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( 1,020 ratings, 86 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
The Courtesan and the Samurai by Lesley Downer is set against the backdrop of Japan's transition from the shogunate to the modern era. It weaves the stories of a determined courtesan and a destitute samurai whose paths unexpectedly intersect. The book delves into themes of love, honour, and cultural upheaval in a time of profound societal change.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this historical fiction if you're intrigued by tales of love and resilience set against the backdrop of 19th century Japan. This book offers a captivating exploration of culture, featuring a forbidden romance between a courtesan and a samurai amidst the chaos of a changing world. If you have an interest in historical settings enriched with vivid details and emotional depth, this story will likely resonate with you.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

When enemy soldiers attack her house she flees across the shattered city of Tokyo and takes refuge in the Yoshiwara, its famous pleasure-quarters.There she is forced to become a courtesan.

Yozo, brave, loyal and a brilliant swordsman, is pledged to the embattled shogun.

An epic story of forbidden love in a time of war by the author of The Last Concubine, one of the bestselling hardcover debuts of 2008.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

An epic story of forbidden love in a time of war by the author of The Last Concubine, one of the bestselling hardcover debuts of 2008.

1868. In Japan's exotic pleasure quarters, sex is for sale and the only forbidden fruit is love...

Hana is just seventeen when her husband goes to war, leaving her alone and vulnerable. When enemy soldiers attack her house, she flees across the shattered city of Tokyo and takes refuge in the Yoshiwara, its famous pleasure quarters. There she is forced to become a courtesan.

Yozo, brave, loyal, and a brilliant swordsman, is pledged to the embattled shogun. He sails to the frozen north to join his rebel comrades for a desperate last stand. Defeated, he makes his way south to the only place where a man is beyond the reach of the lawβ€”the Yoshiwara.

There, in the Nightless City where three thousand courtesans mingle with geishas and jesters, the battered fugitive meets the beautiful courtesan. But each has a secret so terrible that once revealed, it will threaten their very lives...

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The Courtesan and the Samurai by Lesley Downer is vividly narrated and engrossing, drawing readers into the story with a sense of urgency and emotional depth. The narrative effectively captures the tension and drama around the character, making the reader empathise with her journey and inevitable fate.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780552155328

Publisher: Transworld Publishers Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 17 March 2011

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Corgi Books

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 28.0mm

Width: 127.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 325g

Pages: 480

About the Author

Lesley Downer's mother was Chinese and her father a professor of Chinese, so she grew up in a house full of books on Asia. But it was Japan, not China, that proved the more alluring, and she lived there for some fifteen years. She has written many books about the country and its culture, including Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World, and Madame Sadayakko: The Geisha who Seduced the West, and has presented television programmes on Japan for Channel 4, the BBC and NHK. She lives in London with her husband, the author Arthur I. Miller, and still makes sure she goes to Japan every year.

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