Lady Tan’s Circle of Women

*NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!* From ΓÇ£one of those special writers capable of delivering both poetry and plotΓÇ¥ (The New York Times Book Review) an immersive historical novel inspired by the true story of a woman physician in 15th-century ChinaΓÇöperfect for fans of Lisa SeeΓÇÖs classics Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. According to Confucius,ΓÇ£an educated woman is a worthless womanΓÇ¥ but Tan YunxianΓÇöborn into an elite familyyet haunted by deathseparationsand lonelinessΓÇöis being raised by her grandparents to be of use. Her grandmother is one of only a handful of female doctors in Chinaand she teaches Yunxian the pillars of Chinese medicinethe Four ExaminationsΓÇölookinglisteningtouchingand askingΓÇösomething a man can never do with a female patient. From a young ageYunxian learns about womenΓÇÖs illnessesmany of which relate to childbearingalongside a young midwife-in-trainingMeiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purposeΓÇödespite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with itΓÇöand they vow to be forever friendssharing in each otherΓÇÖs joys and struggles. No mudno lotusthey tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom. But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriageher mother-in-law forbids her from seeing Meiling and from helping the women and girls in the household. Yunxian is to act like a proper wifeΓÇöembroider bound-foot slippersrecite poetrygive birth to sonsand stay forever within the walls of the family compoundthe Garden of Fragrant Delights. How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions and lead a life of such importance that many of her remedies are still used five centuries later? How might the power of friendship support or complicate these efforts? A captivating story of women helping each otherLady TanΓÇÖs Circle of Women is a triumphant reimagining of the life of one person who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.