The Dragon Empress: Life and Times of Tz’u-hsi 1835-1908 Empress Dowager of China

Marina Warner was born in London of an Italian mother and an English father. Her history and criticism has focused mainly on female symbolism – Alone of All Her Sex: the Myth and the Cult of the Virgin Mary; Joan of Arc: the Image of Female Heroism; Monuments and Maidens: the Allegory of the Female Form – and is currently finishing a study of fairytale, called From The Beast to The Blonde. She has also written novels. The Lost Father was a Regional Winner of the Commonwealth Writer's Prize and winner of the Macmillan Silver P.E.N Award. She has recently published The Mermaids in the Basement her first collection of short stories.She lives in London with her husband, the artist John Dewe Mathews, and one son.