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Lady Tan's Circle of Women cover art

Lady Tan's Circle of Women

Written by: Lisa See
Narrated by: Jennifer Lim, Justin Chien
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Publisher's Summary

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

The latest historical novel from New York Times bestselling author Lisa See, inspired by the true story of a woman physician from 15th-century China—perfect for fans of See’s classic Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and The Island of Sea Women.

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.

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.

But when Yunxian is sent into an arranged marriage, her 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 wife—embroider bound-foot slippers, pluck instruments, recite poetry, give birth to sons, and stay forever within the walls of the family compound, the Garden of Fragrant Delights.

How might a woman like Yunxian break free of these traditions, 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.

©2022 Lisa See. All rights reserved. (P)2023 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reserved

What listeners say about Lady Tan's Circle of Women

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Focused on 1 single character. Too long for me.

This is a beautiful and interesting description of what life in China was like for women in the 15th Century. However, the novel is a 1 character story. The other people focus on the development of that main character. I found it too detailed, too long and I stopped after 5 hours. I couldn't see myself listening to 8 more hours of the same.





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what an engaging story, right from the beginning through to the end

The book captivated my interest throughout the whole story, I loved it and especially the detective part in the last third of the book.

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New favorite book

Historical book about women helping each other. Refreshing to see women portrayed in a very realistic way. I hate seeing woman jealousy in fiction because it is often so poorly represented, but this book was very good at making the distinction. Jealousy is not a focus point, but the little there is is treated in a very mature way. I love learning about history and this book broadened my horizons. I will now seek out more history about cultures I’m unfamiliar with, this book was an absolute gem.

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Captivating

I loved the character development of primary and secondary characters, the glimpse of the workings of early Japanese culture and the story development and resolution.

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Beautiful story of friendship

I loved this novel! A wonderful way to discover ancient Chinese medecine and culture, including the practice of foot binding. Lisa See once again succeeds in creating a beautiful and touching story of friendship among women set in this ancient culture. Bravo! We’ll worth the read.

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Excellent!!!

I loved this novel! There was such beautiful descriptions and knowledge of medicines woven throughout the story! It is a great read.

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