Son of Heaven

The short, tempestuous life of Shunzhi (1638-1661), first emperor of the Qing Dynasty, unfolds against a background of social upheaval as one dynasty crumbles and another struggles to establish a firm foundation. Yong, volatile, charismatic and obviously brilliant, Shunzhi finds himself hemmed in by his uncle, the regent Dorgon, who has designs on the throne himself. Then there is the Empress Dowager, the mother who dotes on him yet must protect the interests of the Manchus, Shunzhi's ancestral line.
Son of the Heaven takes the reader within the walls of the Forbidden City where this historical tale of ambition, love and loss is acted out amid scenes of breathtaking pageantry and unspeable cruelty.