What do you think?
Rate this book
Empress
1st edition Sphere 1991 paperback, vg+ In stock shipped from our UK warehouse
- GenresFiction
576 pages, Hardcover
Published March 12, 1990
1 person is currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Graham Masterton
423 books1,975 followersGraham Masterton was born in Edinburgh in 1946. His grandfather was Thomas Thorne Baker, the eminent scientist who invented DayGlo and was the first man to transmit news photographs by wireless. After training as a newspaper reporter, Graham went on to edit the new British men's magazine Mayfair, where he encouraged William Burroughs to develop a series of scientific and philosophical articles which eventually became Burroughs' novel The Wild Boys.
At the age of 24, Graham was appointed executive editor of both Penthouse and Penthouse Forum magazines. At this time he started to write a bestselling series of sex 'how-to' books including How To Drive Your Man Wild In Bed which has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. His latest, Wild Sex For New Lovers is published by Penguin Putnam in January, 2001. He is a regular contributor to Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Woman, Woman's Own and other mass-market self-improvement magazines.
Graham Masterton's debut as a horror author began with The Manitou in 1976, a chilling tale of a Native American medicine man reborn in the present day to exact his revenge on the white man. It became an instant bestseller and was filmed with Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Burgess Meredith, Michael Ansara, Stella Stevens and Ann Sothern.
Altogether Graham has written more than a hundred novels ranging from thrillers (The Sweetman Curve, Ikon) to disaster novels (Plague, Famine) to historical sagas (Rich and Maiden Voyage - both appeared in the New York Times bestseller list). He has published four collections of short stories, Fortnight of Fear, Flights of Fear, Faces of Fear and Feelings of Fear.
He has also written horror novels for children (House of Bones, Hair-Raiser) and has just finished the fifth volume in a very popular series for young adults, Rook, based on the adventures of an idiosyncratic remedial English teacher in a Los Angeles community college who has the facility to see ghosts.
Since then Graham has published more than 35 horror novels, including Charnel House, which was awarded a Special Edgar by Mystery Writers of America; Mirror, which was awarded a Silver Medal by West Coast Review of Books; and Family Portrait, an update of Oscar Wilde's tale, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was the only non-French winner of the prestigious Prix Julia Verlanger in France.
He and his wife Wiescka live in a Gothic Victorian mansion high above the River Lee in Cork, Ireland.
At the age of 24, Graham was appointed executive editor of both Penthouse and Penthouse Forum magazines. At this time he started to write a bestselling series of sex 'how-to' books including How To Drive Your Man Wild In Bed which has sold over 3 million copies worldwide. His latest, Wild Sex For New Lovers is published by Penguin Putnam in January, 2001. He is a regular contributor to Cosmopolitan, Men's Health, Woman, Woman's Own and other mass-market self-improvement magazines.
Graham Masterton's debut as a horror author began with The Manitou in 1976, a chilling tale of a Native American medicine man reborn in the present day to exact his revenge on the white man. It became an instant bestseller and was filmed with Tony Curtis, Susan Strasberg, Burgess Meredith, Michael Ansara, Stella Stevens and Ann Sothern.
Altogether Graham has written more than a hundred novels ranging from thrillers (The Sweetman Curve, Ikon) to disaster novels (Plague, Famine) to historical sagas (Rich and Maiden Voyage - both appeared in the New York Times bestseller list). He has published four collections of short stories, Fortnight of Fear, Flights of Fear, Faces of Fear and Feelings of Fear.
He has also written horror novels for children (House of Bones, Hair-Raiser) and has just finished the fifth volume in a very popular series for young adults, Rook, based on the adventures of an idiosyncratic remedial English teacher in a Los Angeles community college who has the facility to see ghosts.
Since then Graham has published more than 35 horror novels, including Charnel House, which was awarded a Special Edgar by Mystery Writers of America; Mirror, which was awarded a Silver Medal by West Coast Review of Books; and Family Portrait, an update of Oscar Wilde's tale, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which was the only non-French winner of the prestigious Prix Julia Verlanger in France.
He and his wife Wiescka live in a Gothic Victorian mansion high above the River Lee in Cork, Ireland.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 16, 2024
Prolific author Graham Masterton’s historical saga Empress was published in 1988.
Beginning in the early 1890s, the book concerns the life and loves of Lucy Darling, a Texan girl who dreams of riches and castles. She helps her father Jack in the town’s general store, with few prospects of escaping this humdrum existence. Her childhood friend Jamie Cullen harbours unrequited love for her. ‘Handsome and gentle, but strong, too; and unselfish. She was conscious that she might not love him forever: that if he didn’t agree to stay with her now, she might not give him a second chance. Life was too exciting for second chances’ (p107). [She would rue that thought about second chances some years later...]
Her Uncle Casper, a spendthrift adventurer, visits the store, though he is not particularly welcome by her father. Yet Casper brings exotic stories about his failed business ventures that intrigue Lucy. Yet, before long she comes to hate Casper. ‘Hatred can cool; envy can be assuaged; but guilt never forgets, and guilt never forgives, and guilt eats the spirit like fire consumes flesh’ (p111). This is a striking allusion to the fate of Casper, which is a traumatic tragedy. The result is that Lucy finds herself inheriting undreamed-of wealth, which enables her to escape with her father to elite drawing-rooms of New York, where she soon becomes a success, despite her strange Texan manner of speaking. Though not everyone was enamoured of her: ‘Mrs Harris at the back of the crowd with a face like a prairie cyclone’ (p137) Indeed, Mrs Harris, being outshone by Lucy, didn’t take kindly to the teenager: ‘... and glared at Lucy with an expression that could have crushed glass’ (p142).
And into the mix arrives British MP Henry Carson who is swept off his feet by the impetuous Lucy. ‘Henry was so direct about his interest in her, and she had never come across such candour before, especially when it came to courting. Bob Wonderly had at least tried to offer her a pound of liver, by way of foreplay’ (p157). Henry was an inveterate traveller, and in his spare time wrote, though his book royalties were not much more than £34 the previous year – join the club, Henry, though that sum in the 1890s is a lot more in today’s money... Henry harbours a secret which he is reluctant to divulge; and she soon learned that ‘his greed for public duty was beyond her understanding’ (p409).
Masterton has created an engaging, wilful, selfish and strong character in Lucy.
There are humorous and sad moments, and three notable quite graphic sexual encounters: ‘He must have the highest collar I ever clapped eyes on’ (p128) ‘Life became one glittering carousel of shining carriages and chandeliers, and men whose collars were so high they had to stare at the ceiling all evening’ (p178).
There is plenty of conflict between the main characters and certain subsidiary people. There are some twists in the tale, and a surprise or two at the end. A satisfying read.
Beginning in the early 1890s, the book concerns the life and loves of Lucy Darling, a Texan girl who dreams of riches and castles. She helps her father Jack in the town’s general store, with few prospects of escaping this humdrum existence. Her childhood friend Jamie Cullen harbours unrequited love for her. ‘Handsome and gentle, but strong, too; and unselfish. She was conscious that she might not love him forever: that if he didn’t agree to stay with her now, she might not give him a second chance. Life was too exciting for second chances’ (p107). [She would rue that thought about second chances some years later...]
Her Uncle Casper, a spendthrift adventurer, visits the store, though he is not particularly welcome by her father. Yet Casper brings exotic stories about his failed business ventures that intrigue Lucy. Yet, before long she comes to hate Casper. ‘Hatred can cool; envy can be assuaged; but guilt never forgets, and guilt never forgives, and guilt eats the spirit like fire consumes flesh’ (p111). This is a striking allusion to the fate of Casper, which is a traumatic tragedy. The result is that Lucy finds herself inheriting undreamed-of wealth, which enables her to escape with her father to elite drawing-rooms of New York, where she soon becomes a success, despite her strange Texan manner of speaking. Though not everyone was enamoured of her: ‘Mrs Harris at the back of the crowd with a face like a prairie cyclone’ (p137) Indeed, Mrs Harris, being outshone by Lucy, didn’t take kindly to the teenager: ‘... and glared at Lucy with an expression that could have crushed glass’ (p142).
And into the mix arrives British MP Henry Carson who is swept off his feet by the impetuous Lucy. ‘Henry was so direct about his interest in her, and she had never come across such candour before, especially when it came to courting. Bob Wonderly had at least tried to offer her a pound of liver, by way of foreplay’ (p157). Henry was an inveterate traveller, and in his spare time wrote, though his book royalties were not much more than £34 the previous year – join the club, Henry, though that sum in the 1890s is a lot more in today’s money... Henry harbours a secret which he is reluctant to divulge; and she soon learned that ‘his greed for public duty was beyond her understanding’ (p409).
Masterton has created an engaging, wilful, selfish and strong character in Lucy.
There are humorous and sad moments, and three notable quite graphic sexual encounters: ‘He must have the highest collar I ever clapped eyes on’ (p128) ‘Life became one glittering carousel of shining carriages and chandeliers, and men whose collars were so high they had to stare at the ceiling all evening’ (p178).
There is plenty of conflict between the main characters and certain subsidiary people. There are some twists in the tale, and a surprise or two at the end. A satisfying read.
October 31, 2014
Uważaj, o czym marzysz, bo może się to spełnić
Graham Masterton nie należy do moich ulubionych pisarzy. Moja przygoda z jego twórczością rozpoczęła się Śpiączką (dosłownie i w przenośni, bo książka bardzo mnie znużyła) i myślałam, że na tym się zakończy. Postanowiłam jednak dać autorowi drugą szansę i sięgnęłam po jego dzieło, które niedawno ukazało się nakładem wydawnictwa Albatros – tym razem powieść historyczną. Czy tu również czekało mnie rozczarowanie?
O czym jest Imperium? To opowieść o młodej dziewczynie, Lucy Darling (tak na marginesie, jej postać luźno skojarzyła mi się z Lucy Westenrą, jedną z bohaterek Draculi oraz Wendy Darling z Piotrusia Pana – nie wiem, czy było to zamierzeniem autora, czy raczej zadziałała tu moja wyobraźnia). Lucy pochodzi z maleńkiej mieściny w Kansas i nie ma zbyt wielkich perspektyw: wyjdzie za mąż, urodzi dzieci i będzie mieszkać na farmie aż do śmierci. Pragnie jednak innego życia. Marzy o tym, by wyjść za bogatego lorda lub finansistę i zostać damą z towarzystwa.
Dziewczynę wychowuje prowadzący sklep ojciec, a od czasu do czasu odwiedza ich niechlujny wuj Casper, który zajmuje się szemranymi interesami. Prawdziwe szczęście w ogromnym nieszczęściu, bo dzięki wujowi marzenia Lucy mogą się spełnić. Jak wykorzysta daną jej przez przewrotny los szansę, musicie przekonać się sami.
Jak wspomniałam wyżej, podchodziłam do twórczości Mastertona z ogromnym dystansem. Bałam się kolejnego rozczarowania, ale okazało się, że niepotrzebnie. Powieść przeczytałam z prawdziwą przyjemnością. Autor doskonale uchwycił realia schyłku XIX wieku – małomiasteczkową biedę, snobizm Nowego Jorku, dystans angielskiej arystokracji oraz kolorystykę i duchotę Indii. Bohaterowie są ludźmi z krwi i kości, mają wiele słabości i popełniają błędy. Lucy nie ma łatwego życia, poprzez swoje wybory niemal wszędzie czuje się nie na miejscu, jednak trzeba przyznać, że do swego celu brnie z niezwykłym uporem. Nie pochwalam niektórych decyzji dziewczyny, jednak nie mogę odmówić jej konsekwencji.
Ciąg dalszy znajdziecie tutaj: http://geek-woman.blogspot.com/2014/1...
Graham Masterton nie należy do moich ulubionych pisarzy. Moja przygoda z jego twórczością rozpoczęła się Śpiączką (dosłownie i w przenośni, bo książka bardzo mnie znużyła) i myślałam, że na tym się zakończy. Postanowiłam jednak dać autorowi drugą szansę i sięgnęłam po jego dzieło, które niedawno ukazało się nakładem wydawnictwa Albatros – tym razem powieść historyczną. Czy tu również czekało mnie rozczarowanie?
O czym jest Imperium? To opowieść o młodej dziewczynie, Lucy Darling (tak na marginesie, jej postać luźno skojarzyła mi się z Lucy Westenrą, jedną z bohaterek Draculi oraz Wendy Darling z Piotrusia Pana – nie wiem, czy było to zamierzeniem autora, czy raczej zadziałała tu moja wyobraźnia). Lucy pochodzi z maleńkiej mieściny w Kansas i nie ma zbyt wielkich perspektyw: wyjdzie za mąż, urodzi dzieci i będzie mieszkać na farmie aż do śmierci. Pragnie jednak innego życia. Marzy o tym, by wyjść za bogatego lorda lub finansistę i zostać damą z towarzystwa.
Dziewczynę wychowuje prowadzący sklep ojciec, a od czasu do czasu odwiedza ich niechlujny wuj Casper, który zajmuje się szemranymi interesami. Prawdziwe szczęście w ogromnym nieszczęściu, bo dzięki wujowi marzenia Lucy mogą się spełnić. Jak wykorzysta daną jej przez przewrotny los szansę, musicie przekonać się sami.
Jak wspomniałam wyżej, podchodziłam do twórczości Mastertona z ogromnym dystansem. Bałam się kolejnego rozczarowania, ale okazało się, że niepotrzebnie. Powieść przeczytałam z prawdziwą przyjemnością. Autor doskonale uchwycił realia schyłku XIX wieku – małomiasteczkową biedę, snobizm Nowego Jorku, dystans angielskiej arystokracji oraz kolorystykę i duchotę Indii. Bohaterowie są ludźmi z krwi i kości, mają wiele słabości i popełniają błędy. Lucy nie ma łatwego życia, poprzez swoje wybory niemal wszędzie czuje się nie na miejscu, jednak trzeba przyznać, że do swego celu brnie z niezwykłym uporem. Nie pochwalam niektórych decyzji dziewczyny, jednak nie mogę odmówić jej konsekwencji.
Ciąg dalszy znajdziecie tutaj: http://geek-woman.blogspot.com/2014/1...
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews