Negative Positive
Title: Inspired work of fiction
Review: I have studied late Ch'ing dynasty in detail from Chinese sources and can safely say that I have never encountered a more distorted and fictional view of the period. Seagrave's thesis that the 'evil legend' of Tz'u-hsi was invented by Bland and Backhouse is false: apart from the material based on the Ching-shan diary, virtually everything in 'China under the Empress Dowager' is based on authentic Chinese sources. Seagrave creates an imaginary political scenario of a court dominated by a fictitious 'Ironhat' clique. Virtually every page in this book contains some sort of error, distortion, sweeping judgement based on minimal evidence, fabrication or even an ocasional barefaced lie. If you want a true picture of the late Ch'ing, read Marina Warner's biography of Tz'u-hsi. A comprehensive and accurate account can be found in the five-volume 'Ch'ing-tai t'ung-shih' by Hsiao I-shan. Seagrave's book is an entertaining novel.
Is the review positive or negative? 