And Zheng Yi is a brutal man that you would begin to despise. It is no wonder that she revolted, and desired more freedom for herself. Compare this to Xianggu, who is the dragon lady of our book. By learning Hangul, Sejong was effectively ridding them of their power. The Nobles learnt Chinese characters and phonetic alphabets, thus that secured their power. That was not possible to do because Sejong faced hostility from the nobles. That language that is now spoken by thousands of Koreans today.

The Nobles of Korea were opposed to Sejong the Great for this manner, when he introduced his new language script, Hangul. The Nobles couldn’t give a damn about the common peasant. Instead of doing good work, they spent their time celebrating and dining with girls while the people began to starve. But I mean when you’re a concubine dealing with men of the highest administration of the land that are so corrupt, it fills with you sadness. This novel gives her a more human image and explains her reasons for why she committed piracy. She was fictional of course, but she was based on the actual Cheng Sao who dominated the South China Sea in the 18th century. I am part of the Historical Fiction Blog tour and thank you to Amy for providing me a advanced review copy of this.Ĭast your minds back to 2007 when you were watching Pirates of the Carribean at World’s End and you saw a Chinese Pirate Lord named Sao Feng. In 18th century China, when men made and enforced the rules, the Dragon Lady lived by her own. She must become indispensable to Zheng Yi or risk losing everything, even her life. But Xianggu must do more than learn to wield a sword, sail a ship, and swim across a bay. This begins her adventure into the violent world of sea banditry. Red Flag boss, Zheng Yi, is captivated by the spirited Xianggu and soon makes her his wife. Determined to rise above her lowly status, the fearless young woman embarks on a journey requiring beauty, brains, and brawn.

Sold into slavery by her parents, Xianggu works on a floating brothel for ten years before a midnight pirate raid changes her life. The second set me free.”Īgainst all odds, a prostitute becomes the most powerful pirate chieftain in the South China Seas. “Prostitution required the violation of my body.

Dragon Lady by Autumn Bardot