
The Cold Palace
Forbidden City
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $19.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Amelia Fei
-
By:
-
Melissa Addey
About this listen
Eighteenth-century China. Ula Nara is a happy 16-year-old, in love and betrothed. But before she can be married, she must attend the Imperial Daughters’ Draft, where concubines are chosen for the Emperor and his family. When she is chosen as a bride to the heir to the throne, Ula Nara must face a lifetime of regret while her sweetheart vows to become a monk. Determined to make her pain worth something, Ula Nara aims for the pinnacle of success: to become Empress. But perhaps being an Empress is not worth as much as she thought, and happiness may lie in the simpler things.
©2019 Melissa Addey (P)2021 Melissa AddeyListeners also enjoyed...
-
Threads of Silk
- By: Amanda Roberts
- Narrated by: Leanne Yau
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in the middle of nowhere, Yaqian, a little embroidery girl from Hunan Province, finds her way to the imperial court, a place of intrigue, desire, and treachery. From the bed of an Emperor, the heart of a Prince, and the right side of an Empress, Yaqian weaves her way through the most turbulent decades of China's history and witnesses the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
-
-
Absolutely wonderful story !
- By Margaret on 09-14-17
By: Amanda Roberts
-
The Moon in the Palace
- The Empress of Bright Moon, Book 1
- By: Weina Dai Randel
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is no easy path for a woman aspiring to power. A concubine at the palace learns quickly that there are many ways to capture the emperor's attention. Many paint their faces white and style their hair attractively, hoping to lure in the One Above All with their beauty. Some present him with fantastic gifts, such as jade pendants and scrolls of calligraphy, while others rely on their knowledge of seduction to draw his interest. But young Mei knows nothing of these womanly arts, yet she will give the emperor a gift he can never forget.
-
-
One of the most annoying narrations
- By Foodiewife on 01-28-17
By: Weina Dai Randel
-
The Flower Boat Girl
- A Novel Based on a True Story
- By: Larry Feign
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
South China coast, 1801. Sold as a child to a floating brothel, twenty-six-year-old Yang has finally bought her freedom, only to be kidnapped by a brutal pirate gang and forced to marry their leader. Dragged through stormy seas and lawless bandit havens, Yang must stay scrappy to survive. She embeds herself in the dark business of piracy, carving out her role against the resistance of powerful pirate leaders and Cheung Po Tsai, her husband's flamboyant male concubine.
-
-
Fetishization of an Asian woman by a white man
- By Mama Ishtari on 07-12-23
By: Larry Feign
-
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
- By: Lisa See
- Narrated by: Ruthie Ann Miles, Kimiko Glenn, Alex Allwine, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The thrilling new novel from number-one New York Times best-selling author Lisa See explores the lives of a Chinese mother and her daughter who has been abandoned and adopted by an American couple.
-
-
***EXCELLENT*** Six stars if I could !!
- By ROBIN on 04-10-17
By: Lisa See
-
Peony in Love
- A Novel
- By: Lisa See
- Narrated by: Janet Song
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage.
-
-
Eloquently written and read
- By D on 07-21-07
By: Lisa See
-
The Dragon Queen
- By: William Andrews
- Narrated by: Janet Song, Todd McLaren
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As tensions rise on the Korean peninsula, US diplomat Nate Simon is sent to Seoul to gauge the political situation and advise the president. He also needs to find out why someone sent the president an ancient, intricately carved comb with an ivory inlay of a two-headed dragon. Though familiar with Korea’s language and culture, Nate knows little of its troubled history. Beautiful and mysterious embassy aide Anna Carlson believes it’s time he learns, starting with the extraordinary story of Korea’s last queen.
-
-
A bit cheesy
- By traci on 01-15-19
By: William Andrews
-
Threads of Silk
- By: Amanda Roberts
- Narrated by: Leanne Yau
- Length: 10 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in the middle of nowhere, Yaqian, a little embroidery girl from Hunan Province, finds her way to the imperial court, a place of intrigue, desire, and treachery. From the bed of an Emperor, the heart of a Prince, and the right side of an Empress, Yaqian weaves her way through the most turbulent decades of China's history and witnesses the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
-
-
Absolutely wonderful story !
- By Margaret on 09-14-17
By: Amanda Roberts
-
The Moon in the Palace
- The Empress of Bright Moon, Book 1
- By: Weina Dai Randel
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is no easy path for a woman aspiring to power. A concubine at the palace learns quickly that there are many ways to capture the emperor's attention. Many paint their faces white and style their hair attractively, hoping to lure in the One Above All with their beauty. Some present him with fantastic gifts, such as jade pendants and scrolls of calligraphy, while others rely on their knowledge of seduction to draw his interest. But young Mei knows nothing of these womanly arts, yet she will give the emperor a gift he can never forget.
-
-
One of the most annoying narrations
- By Foodiewife on 01-28-17
By: Weina Dai Randel
-
The Flower Boat Girl
- A Novel Based on a True Story
- By: Larry Feign
- Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
South China coast, 1801. Sold as a child to a floating brothel, twenty-six-year-old Yang has finally bought her freedom, only to be kidnapped by a brutal pirate gang and forced to marry their leader. Dragged through stormy seas and lawless bandit havens, Yang must stay scrappy to survive. She embeds herself in the dark business of piracy, carving out her role against the resistance of powerful pirate leaders and Cheung Po Tsai, her husband's flamboyant male concubine.
-
-
Fetishization of an Asian woman by a white man
- By Mama Ishtari on 07-12-23
By: Larry Feign
-
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
- By: Lisa See
- Narrated by: Ruthie Ann Miles, Kimiko Glenn, Alex Allwine, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The thrilling new novel from number-one New York Times best-selling author Lisa See explores the lives of a Chinese mother and her daughter who has been abandoned and adopted by an American couple.
-
-
***EXCELLENT*** Six stars if I could !!
- By ROBIN on 04-10-17
By: Lisa See
-
Peony in Love
- A Novel
- By: Lisa See
- Narrated by: Janet Song
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For young Peony, betrothed to a suitor she has never met, lyrics from The Peony Pavilion mirror her own longings. In the garden of the Chen Family Villa, amid the scent of ginger, green tea, and jasmine, a small theatrical troupe is performing scenes from this epic opera, a live spectacle few females have ever seen. Like the heroine in the drama, Peony is the cloistered daughter of a wealthy family, trapped like a good-luck cricket in a bamboo-and-lacquer cage.
-
-
Eloquently written and read
- By D on 07-21-07
By: Lisa See
-
The Dragon Queen
- By: William Andrews
- Narrated by: Janet Song, Todd McLaren
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As tensions rise on the Korean peninsula, US diplomat Nate Simon is sent to Seoul to gauge the political situation and advise the president. He also needs to find out why someone sent the president an ancient, intricately carved comb with an ivory inlay of a two-headed dragon. Though familiar with Korea’s language and culture, Nate knows little of its troubled history. Beautiful and mysterious embassy aide Anna Carlson believes it’s time he learns, starting with the extraordinary story of Korea’s last queen.
-
-
A bit cheesy
- By traci on 01-15-19
By: William Andrews
-
Shanghai Girls
- A Novel
- By: Lisa See
- Narrated by: Janet Song
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father’s prosperous rickshaw business, 21-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn’t be more different, but both are beautiful, modern, and carefree...until the day their father tells them he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts, he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides.
-
-
Touching, sad, and enjoyable
- By Beach Biker on 07-15-09
By: Lisa See
-
Lady Tan's Circle of Women
- By: Lisa See
- Narrated by: Jennifer Lim, Justin Chien
- Length: 13 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
According to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” but Tan Yunxian—born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separations, and loneliness—is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in China, and she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicine, the Four Examinations—looking, listening, touching, and asking—something a man can never do with a female patient.
-
-
Another Beautiful Novel from Lisa See!
- By TuxedoedCorgi95 on 06-06-23
By: Lisa See
-
Paper Wife
- A Novel
- By: Laila Ibrahim
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Southern China, 1923. Desperate to secure her future, Mei Ling’s parents arrange a marriage to a widower in California. To enter the country, she must pretend to be her husband’s first wife - a paper wife. On the perilous voyage, Mei Ling takes an orphan girl named Siew under her wing. Dreams of a better life in America give Mei Ling the strength to endure the treacherous journey and detainment on Angel Island. But when she finally reaches San Francisco, she’s met with a surprise. Her husband, Chinn Kai Li, is a houseboy, not the successful merchant he led her to believe.
-
-
Just okay..disappointed
- By Donna Smith McG on 11-03-18
By: Laila Ibrahim
-
Memoirs of a Geisha
- By: Arthur Golden
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In a voice both haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri describes her life as a geisha. Taken from her home at the age of nine, she is sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. Witness her transformation as you enter a world where appearances are paramount, virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder, women beguile powerful men, and love is scorned as illusion.
-
-
Perfect ---- in every way
- By Amanda on 02-08-06
By: Arthur Golden
-
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
- A Novel
- By: Lisa See
- Narrated by: Janet Song
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lily is haunted by memories of who she once was, and of a person, long gone, who defined her existence. She has nothing but time now, as she recounts the tale of Snow Flower and asks the gods for forgiveness.
-
-
Loved it!
- By Pat on 10-03-05
By: Lisa See
-
The Island of Sea Women
- A Novel
- By: Lisa See
- Narrated by: Jennifer Lim
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mi-ja and Young-sook, two girls living on the Korean island of Jeju, are best friends who come from very different backgrounds. When they are old enough, they begin working in the sea with their village’s all-female diving collective, led by Young-sook’s mother. As the girls take up their positions as baby divers, they know they are beginning a life of excitement and responsibility but also danger. This beautiful, thoughtful novel illuminates a world turned upside down, one where the women are in charge, engaging in dangerous, physical work, and the men take care of the children.
-
-
Overly dramatic read
- By mary krause on 03-28-19
By: Lisa See
-
The Ghost Bride
- A Novel
- By: Yangsze Choo
- Narrated by: Yangsze Choo
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lims' handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever.
-
-
Muddled
- By L on 06-01-19
By: Yangsze Choo
-
The Lady of the Rivers
- By: Philippa Gregory
- Narrated by: Bianca Amato
- Length: 19 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jacquetta always has had the gift of second sight. As a child visiting her uncle, she met his prisoner, Joan of Arc, and saw her own power reflected in the young woman accused of witchcraft. They share the mystery of the tarot card of the wheel of fortune before Joan is taken to a horrific death. Jacquetta understands the danger for a woman who dares to dream. Jacquetta is married to the Duke of Bedford, English regent of France, and he introduces her to a mysterious world of learning and alchemy.
-
-
Philippa back on track
- By Bonnie-Ann on 11-26-11
By: Philippa Gregory
-
Becoming Marie Antoinette
- A Novel
- By: Juliet Grey
- Narrated by: Juliet Grey
- Length: 16 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Raised alongside her numerous brothers and sisters by the formidable empress of Austria, ten-year-old Maria Antonia knew that her idyllic existence would one day be sacrificed to her mother’s political ambitions. What she never anticipated was that the day in question would come so soon.
-
-
Narrator was amazing!!!
- By Jasmina on 09-12-17
By: Juliet Grey
-
Dynasty 1: The Founding
- By: Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
- Narrated by: Christopher Scott
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This wonderful series opens with the back drop of the Wars of the Roses with the marriage between Eleanor Morland and a scion of the influential house of Beaufort. It is a union which establishes the powerful Morland dynasty and in the succeeding volumes of this rich tapestry of English life, we follow their fortunes through war and peace, political upheaval and social revolution, times of pestilence and periods of plenty, and through the vicissitudes which afflict every family - love and passion, envy and betrayal, birth and death, great fortune and miserable penury.
-
-
So Entertaining and Interesting!
- By Hollace on 03-29-12
-
China Dolls
- A Novel
- By: Lisa See
- Narrated by: Jodi Long
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
San Francisco, 1938: A world’s fair is preparing to open on Treasure Island, a war is brewing overseas, and the city is alive with possibilities. Talented Grace, traditional Helen, and defiant Ruby, three young women from very different backgrounds, meet by chance at the exclusive and glamorous Forbidden City nightclub.
-
-
Narrator Spoiled It For Me
- By woodbridge98 on 06-09-14
By: Lisa See
-
Black Spring
- By: Alison Croggon
- Narrated by: Kim Hicks
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lina is the enchanting but willful daughter of a village lord. She and her childhood companion, Damek, have grown up privileged and spoiled, and they're devoted to each other to the point of obsession. But Lina's violet eyes betray her for a witch, and witches are not tolerated in a brutally patriarchal society. Her rank protects her from persecution, but it cannot protect her from tragedy and heartbreak. An innocent visitor stands witness to the devastation that ensues as destructive longing unleashes Lina's wrath, and with it her forbidden power.
-
-
No passion and boring characters
- By Verity on 07-24-15
By: Alison Croggon
What listeners say about The Cold Palace
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Janalyn
- 09-19-21
This book was so freaking awesome!
I love books about history… Any book. So when I read the summary for the cold Palace I was excited to read it. I am very interested and concubines and consorts (in king and cannot read enough about them. When I started reading this book about little Ulanora, I Felt so bad for her she was 16 and wanted to be patrolled the hot childhood friend Ona, but it can only happen if she wasn’t back at the daughters day celebration. This is when they pick new concerts for the Emperor and his offspring. Ulanora and her mother thought her chances of being picked were slim. They were only picking a few in here hundreds to pick from. So when the emperor mean consort kicked her she was devastated even begging the emperor to change her mind. She would not only never see her family again but could never be married to her one true love. This was only made worse when she made it to the forbidden city only to see that Prince Bow Who is truly in love with his own main consort in that sheet for the rest of her life would have to look on this true love match, while she would never see her true love ever again. She does her best to make a life for herself in the forbidden city. She wasn’t happy as a matter of a fact she was quite the opposite and without the heart those who seemed happy. Well everyone except for her one true friend one it wasn’t until they made another summer trip to the perfect gardens prince balls favorite place, but I realized the book I read called the concert was either a prequel to this book or an addendum. I was so shocked and surprised and must admit very happy that this was an explanation of why Ulanora was so unhappy and wanted to make others that way. Especially Wayne, king and the other concert who’s name I forget. I won’t give anything away just know this book or the book called the consort it’s so good and I highly recommend both of them. I can’t wait to read more by this author I didn’t know why I hadn’t looked for her books before. I absolutely loved every book I have read by her I didn’t even realize I was reading books by the same author until they had the same character. She did such a great job with world building and what felt like genuine drama that would’ve happened in the forbidden city in China in the 1700s. I just love it and can’t recommend it enough the coal palace is such a great book and so worth getting. ak
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Celeste Phelps
- 12-07-21
Really enjoyed it!!
Most memorable moment was when Ula-Nara realized that the monk was her true love!
I wondered if she realized that she was actually set free from the gilded cage of the Forbidden City when she was exiled to the "Cold Palace".
Ms. Addey, could you write about other women who were in Qianlong's harem? I also enjoyed your other book The Consorts!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Elyse Becker
- 06-11-22
The Human Element
SPOILERS AHEAD! Addey excels at finding the human element in historical fiction and in making unfamiliar cultures accessible (unfamiliar to many of her listeners and certainly to this one). It had been a while since I read the rest of The Forbidden City series; I'd honestly forgotten how nasty Ula Nara was to the other characters. I was unpleasantly surprised when the young woman I was rooting for essentially turned into a sadist. But polygamy and the court system broke her, so I was glad when Addy allowed Ula Nara some happiness at the end.
I loved the use of the magpie myth. I grew up in Colorado, where magpies are pretty despised. This is one of the joys of learning about other cultures: having your expectations flipped on their heads. I also enjoyed Addey's Author's Note. And what a pleasure to hear narrator Amelia Fei speaking all those Chinese words with beautiful precision.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rose L McKee
- 07-08-23
Alot of complaining
I wanted more details about palace life. This was endless complaining and struggling of the main character. The pay off is good, but felt like it could have been shorter or been more about the details of court life.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!