I came across The Remarried Empress purely by chance and have loved it from the beginning. The artwork for each of the pages is brilliantly done and the storyline is gripping. The front covers are so beautiful.
The Remarried Empress started off as a Korean Webtoon and was later translated into English (and possibly other languages although not sure) and published into volumes. It is a graphic novel set in a fictional kingdom which follows the rules of a 19thCentury court from European kingdoms. The rule of male primogeniture is still in force and the Empress must provide an heir (preferably male). Mistresses have been a thing for the previous Emperors and is the catalyst for the beginning of the story.
Empress Navier has known her husband the Emperor since they were children, and she was groomed to become his wife. She was taught everything an Empress of the kingdom needed to know but the only thing she has been unable to do is to get pregnant. Her husband, Sovieshu is considered a kind and brilliant Emperor and husband. That all changes when a slave girl called Rashta enters the kingdom. Sovieshu becomes enamoured with her and takes her as his mistress (the only mistress Sovieshu has had throughout his reign and marriage). As the course of the series progresses Navier is put into increasingly more awkward interactions with the Emperor and Rashta. Once Rashta finds out she’s pregnant Sovieshu knows his only way of legitimising the heir is to divorce Navier and to marry Rashta.
The first graphic novel opens to Navier agreeing to the divorce but her only stipulation is that she gets to choose who she will marry next. This shocks the court and further adds surprise when her intended has turned up to watch the proceedings. Her choice, the Emperor to a neighbouring kingdom called Heinrey. The next following volumes are told as a flashback so the reader is aware of the events preceding the divorce.
The Remarried Empress is a great series to read. It can be read quite quickly as with most graphic novels. The character development is very good, and it makes you root for some and despise others. There is magic, love and backstabbing betrayals that come with courtly life.
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