Shortlisted for the Baillie Gifford Prize 2020 a vivid work of history that explores the life
of an unconventional woman in Edo - now known as Tokyo - and a portrait of a great city on the
brink of momentous change 'Compelling... Deeply absorbing' Guardian The daughter of a Buddhist
priest Tsuneno was born in 1804 in a village in Japan's snow country and was expected to lead
a life much like her mother's. Instead - after three divorces and with a temperament much too
strong-willed for her family's approval - she ran away to follow her own path in Edo the city
we now call Tokyo. Stranger in the Shogun's City is a rare captivating portrait of one woman
as she endeavours to recreate herself and her life and provides a window into the drama and
excitement of Japan at a pivotal moment in history. 'Marvellous... Stanley builds up a picture
of Tsuneno's world immersing us in an experience akin to time travel' TLS * Winner of the
National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography 2020 * * Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for
Biography 2021 * * Winner of the PEN Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography * * Longlisted
for the HWA Non-Fiction Crown *
