The Last Concubine
Bantam Press, 2008, 480 pages. Hardback £12.99. ISBN 13: 978 – 0593057537
Review by Anna Davis
Lesley Downer’s first novel chronicles an unexpected romance that grows in the gulf between old and new in nineteenth century Japan. Romantic love, a nameless concept in the society of the day is an interesting theme, but the real page turner is the historical backdrop, taking us from the secretive and elegant women’s palace to the bloody samurai battlegrounds.
“It was a challenge to write a love story set in a society in which there was no concept of romantic love – and without ever using the word ‘love'” admits the author. The backdrop to her story, however, is a seemingly effortless creation and left me thirsting to know more about the era.
Sachi, our heroine, begins life as a peasant in a small village. At the age of eleven she is spotted by the journeying princess and taken off to the women’s palace where we are given a fascinating glimpse into the lives of the three thousand women who live within its walls. Sachi slips into this evocative world of beauty, envy and female companionship, into a life that revolves around one man – the shogun. At fifteen Sachi becomes his concubine. As her lifelong friend Taki tells her, “It is the greatest thing that could ever happen to a girl.”
However, this quiet glory and the inner calm of life in the women’s palace is quickly whisked away from Japan’s last concubine. Black ships have arrived from the West, civil war ravages and eventually reaches even the sheltered women’s palace. As Sachi flees from the palace, acting as a decoy for the princess, she is rescued by a dashing warrior. Here enters our hero, who becomes the unsuspecting subject of an enduring love affair.
Sword play, friendship, disguises and dedication all rear their heads as Sachi and her female companions struggle to create a new destiny in a country thrown on its head. Amidst the drama, Sachi must also confront and explore a shocking revelation about her past that leaves heroine and reader puzzling over who the last concubine really is.
Many of the characters really did exist (the shogun, the princess and the three thousand women of the palace, to start) and Lesley Downer has weaved her story into a concrete time and place. She is the first to admit that there is not extensive documentation about the women’s palace. However, she has tempered the various settings with her own imaginings and understanding; Lesley is a woman who knows Japan. She lived in the country for over ten years. To research “Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World” she spent six months living amongst the geisha and sharing in their lives.
With the historical references and beautiful settings so firmly laid down, the evolution of a love that could hardly be identified as such is the story’s most complex element. The unexpected and fleeting romantic moments must have felt so to the characters as well as the reader, and Lesley Downer has done a good job to ensure the consistency of this improbability.
Enjoy the love story along the way but read this for the sheer beauty of the era, the drama and glory, and for the glimpse into a little-known world as seen through a fusion of history and imagination.