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Lady Tan's Circle of Women
Lady Tan's Circle of Women
de Lisa See
'Despite the inordinate limits placed on women, See allows their strengths to dominate their stories' Washington Post
'Poignant . . . quietly affecting' Time
'Emotional and illuminating' BookPage
In 15th century China two women are born under the same sign, the Metal Snake. But life will take the friends on very different paths.
According to Confucius, 'an educated woman is a worthless woman', but Tan Yunxian – born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separation and loneliness – is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. She begins her training in medicine with her grandmother and, as she navigates the male world of medicine, requiring tact and diplomacy, she struggles against the confining world of her class.
From a young age, Yunxian learns about women's illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose – despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it – and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other's joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.
How might a woman like Yunxian break free of tradition, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, 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? Lady Tan's Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.
Praise for Lisa See
'This novel spans wars and generations, but at its heart is a beautifully rendered story of two women whose individual choices become inextricably tangled' Jodi Picoult
'No one writes about female friendship, the dark and the light of it, with more insight and depth than Lisa See' Sue Monk Kidd
'See's thoughtful and empathetic book sheds necessary attention on this largely ignored event' New York Times
'A powerful and essential story of humanity' Los Angeles Review of Books
'A spellbinding portrait of a time burning with opportunity and mystery' O: The Oprah Magazine
'A lush tale infused with clear-eyed compassion' The Washington Post
'Poignant . . . quietly affecting' Time
'Emotional and illuminating' BookPage
In 15th century China two women are born under the same sign, the Metal Snake. But life will take the friends on very different paths.
According to Confucius, 'an educated woman is a worthless woman', but Tan Yunxian – born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separation and loneliness – is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. She begins her training in medicine with her grandmother and, as she navigates the male world of medicine, requiring tact and diplomacy, she struggles against the confining world of her class.
From a young age, Yunxian learns about women's illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose – despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it – and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other's joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.
How might a woman like Yunxian break free of tradition, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, 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? Lady Tan's Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.
Praise for Lisa See
'This novel spans wars and generations, but at its heart is a beautifully rendered story of two women whose individual choices become inextricably tangled' Jodi Picoult
'No one writes about female friendship, the dark and the light of it, with more insight and depth than Lisa See' Sue Monk Kidd
'See's thoughtful and empathetic book sheds necessary attention on this largely ignored event' New York Times
'A powerful and essential story of humanity' Los Angeles Review of Books
'A spellbinding portrait of a time burning with opportunity and mystery' O: The Oprah Magazine
'A lush tale infused with clear-eyed compassion' The Washington Post
'Despite the inordinate limits placed on women, See allows their strengths to dominate their stories' Washington Post
'Poignant . . . quietly affecting' Time
'Emotional and illuminating' BookPage
In 15th century China two women are born under the same sign, the Metal Snake. But life will take the friends on very different paths.
According to Confucius, 'an educated woman is a worthless woman', but Tan Yunxian – born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separation and loneliness – is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. She begins her training in medicine with her grandmother and, as she navigates the male world of medicine, requiring tact and diplomacy, she struggles against the confining world of her class.
From a young age, Yunxian learns about women's illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose – despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it – and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other's joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.
How might a woman like Yunxian break free of tradition, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, 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? Lady Tan's Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.
Praise for Lisa See
'This novel spans wars and generations, but at its heart is a beautifully rendered story of two women whose individual choices become inextricably tangled' Jodi Picoult
'No one writes about female friendship, the dark and the light of it, with more insight and depth than Lisa See' Sue Monk Kidd
'See's thoughtful and empathetic book sheds necessary attention on this largely ignored event' New York Times
'A powerful and essential story of humanity' Los Angeles Review of Books
'A spellbinding portrait of a time burning with opportunity and mystery' O: The Oprah Magazine
'A lush tale infused with clear-eyed compassion' The Washington Post
'Poignant . . . quietly affecting' Time
'Emotional and illuminating' BookPage
In 15th century China two women are born under the same sign, the Metal Snake. But life will take the friends on very different paths.
According to Confucius, 'an educated woman is a worthless woman', but Tan Yunxian – born into an elite family, yet haunted by death, separation and loneliness – is being raised by her grandparents to be of use. She begins her training in medicine with her grandmother and, as she navigates the male world of medicine, requiring tact and diplomacy, she struggles against the confining world of her class.
From a young age, Yunxian learns about women's illnesses, many of which relate to childbearing, alongside a young midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two girls find fast friendship and a mutual purpose – despite the prohibition that a doctor should never touch blood while a midwife comes in frequent contact with it – and they vow to be forever friends, sharing in each other's joys and struggles. No mud, no lotus, they tell themselves: from adversity beauty can bloom.
How might a woman like Yunxian break free of tradition, go on to treat women and girls from every level of society, 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? Lady Tan's Circle of Women is a captivating story of women helping other women. It is also a triumphant reimagining of the life of a woman who was remarkable in the Ming dynasty and would be considered remarkable today.
Praise for Lisa See
'This novel spans wars and generations, but at its heart is a beautifully rendered story of two women whose individual choices become inextricably tangled' Jodi Picoult
'No one writes about female friendship, the dark and the light of it, with more insight and depth than Lisa See' Sue Monk Kidd
'See's thoughtful and empathetic book sheds necessary attention on this largely ignored event' New York Times
'A powerful and essential story of humanity' Los Angeles Review of Books
'A spellbinding portrait of a time burning with opportunity and mystery' O: The Oprah Magazine
'A lush tale infused with clear-eyed compassion' The Washington Post
Critiques-
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May 15, 2023
In See’s satisfactory latest (after The Island of Sea Women), Tan Yunxian, a historical doctor from 15th-century China, finds her calling at odds with other traditional duties of marriage and motherhood. After Yunxian’s mother dies from an infection, she’s sent to live with her doting paternal grandparents, both physicians who teach her the art of medicine. There, Yunxian develops an intimate friendship with Meiling, the daughter of a midwife—a profession considered taboo by many elite families such as Yunxian’s. After she marries into a wealthy merchant family, Yunxian’s mother-in-law puts a stop to her work, forcing her to live as a proper Confucian woman, and she becomes isolated from Meiling and her passion for medicine. See weaves an appealing tale of female love and loyalty as the women in Yunxian’s life rally around her, eventually leading to the publication of her book Miscellaneous Records of a Female Doctor, which the author draws on. Though the pacing can feel slow and the outcome a tad predictable, See adds intrigue with a side plot involving a mysterious death, along with notable depictions of footbinding and the intricacies of Chinese medicine. See’s fans will find much to enjoy. Agent: Sandy Dijkstra, Sandy Dijkstra Literary Agency. -
Jennifer Lim's immersive narration takes listeners to fifteenth-century China for a fictional account of the life of a woman doctor, Tan Yunxian. In an era when well-born women existed solely to produce heirs, Yunxian was trained by her grandparents, both doctors, to treat the illnesses of women. Her grandmother also encouraged friendship with the daughter of the local midwife, and, after her marriage, Yunxian is devastated when her mother-in-law forbids her continued relationship with Meiling, as well as her practice of healing the women in the family. Lim's restrained performance captures all the fascinating, if disturbing, details of bound feet, eunuchs, deadly diseases, and the courtly intrigue surrounding aristocratic life during the Ming dynasty. The foreword and afterword are authentically narrated by Justin Chien. S.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
