*NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!* From one of those special writers capable of delivering both
poetry and plot (The New York Times Book Review) an immersive historical novel inspired by the
true story of a woman physician in 15th-century China-perfect for fans of Lisa See's classics
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan and Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane. 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 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 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 other Lady Tan's 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.
