Lady Tan's circle of women: a novel

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. (June)

Actress Jennifer Lim's subdued narration brings a down-to-earth realism to See's (The Island of Sea Women) new novel, inspired by the true story of Tan Yunxian, a woman physician who practiced in 15th-century Ming China. Born to an elite family of scholars and trained by her physician grandparents, Yunxian is introduced to a midwife-in-training, Meiling. The two become fast friends and stay connected throughout the ups and downs of their lives. After marrying into a wealthy family, Yunxian is forced to stop her work and is restricted to a narrow, Confucianism-centered world with constant supervision. Here, her medical knowledge is irrelevant; it is only her beauty and her ability to bear children that determine her worth. This tale of traditional medicine, foot-binding, and the suffocating lives of women confined to "inside rooms" is bracketed by introductory and postscript materials narrated by actor, writer, and producer Justin Chien, who also voices several of Yunxian's male relatives. VERDICT Share with See's loyal fans and anyone interested in Chinese history and medicine. An excellent recommendation for book groups and for readers who enjoy historical fiction about women living in highly regulated patriarchal societies.--David Faucheux

The lives of women in 15th-century China are illuminated in this engrossing novel. Tan Yunxian was a real historical figure who published a book about her career as a physician, but little is known about her personal life. See creates a rich story about a girl born into an aristocratic family. That accident of birth should have written her fate: limited education, bound feet, arranged marriage, childbirth, and a life spent entirely behind the walls of family compounds. She doesn't escape all of those things, but after the early death of her mother, she's raised by her paternal grandparents, who are both doctors, and given an unusually advanced education, including in the healing arts they practice. Yunxian's life is constrained by rules governing her class and gender, and she is literally never alone--even when she sleeps, her maid sleeps at the foot of her bed. Her family's wealthy extended household has an elaborate structure, and she learns early to negotiate the gradations among first wives, second wives, and concubines and to recognize that, like them, she is valued for beauty and fertility and little else. She breaks a rule, though, when she becomes friends with Meiling, the daughter of Midwife Shi, who delivers the family's babies. As Yunxian's grandmother says, midwives are "indispensable"--male doctors are not allowed to look at or touch their female patients--but they're also reviled for their contact with blood and practice of abortion. The lifelong friendship between Yunxian and Meiling will have an indelible impact on both women, and in a later portion of the book they'll even be involved in an attempted murder trial. Yunxian's arranged marriage is a fairly happy one, but as she matures, she grows more focused on practicing as a physician. She sometimes has insight into the inequities of feudal China, especially the treatment of working-class women. But she's hardly revolutionary; even though she experienced the brutal pain of foot binding and watched her mother die of an infection caused by it, she binds the feet of her three daughters without question. Although the book's pace can sometimes slow, it's packed with historical detail. Women's friendships in a world where they have little freedom shape a quietly moving book. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

*Starred Review* In fifteenth-century China, Tan Yunxian loses her mother at a young age, and her father quickly remarries, sending Yunxian to live with her grandparents. There she finds her passion, learning the art of medicine from her grandmother. She also befriends a midwife's daughter, Meiling, a tie complicated by their vastly different social strata. When Yunxian marries into the wealthy and traditional Yang family, her life constricts, and she fights loneliness in her new, oppressive environment. Her husband is kind but mediocre, her mother-in-law constantly critical. In her latest engaging historical novel, following The Island of Sea Women (2019), best-selling See tells a tale of female relationships, portraying women who hold historically authentic worldviews as they face the complexities of Chinese medicine and the matter-of-fact acceptance of the brutal foot-binding their husbands find so beautiful. See creates a cultural smorgasbord as she adeptly depicts the strict delineation and separation of the sexes and the minute details of the social hierarchy, especially among the women, from wives to concubines, widows, daughters, and servants. Based on the writings of an historical Ming dynasty female physician, See's accomplished novel immerses readers in a fascinating life lived within a fascinating culture.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: See's renown will have readers watching for her latest enthralling, women-focused historical tale. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.

From Benedict and Murray, the New York Times best-selling authors of the Good Morning America Book Club pick The Personal Librarian, The First Ladies assays the relationship between First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune, whose parents were once enslaved. In theNew York Times best-selling Harmel's The Paris Daughter, Elise must go into hiding when the Germans occupy Paris during World War II and entrusts her young daughter to friend Juliette—their two girls are close—only to discover at war's end that Juliette has vanished and only one girl (but which one?) survived a bombing. In lates 1700s India, 17-year-old Abbas works under French clockmaker Lucien du Leze to create a massive tiger automaton for Tipu Sultan (called the Tiger of Mysore), then returns to apprentice with du Leze in France and eventually heads to England to rescue his tiger, which British forces treated as Loot; James'sThe Tusk That Did the Damage was a San Francisco Chronicle best book. Wandering through devastated post-World War II France, Asher finds sanctuary (but hides his Jewish identity) at The Glass Château, where glass is being manufactured to replace the shattered windows of postwar France's cathedrals: award-winning journalist/novelist Kiernan was inspired by the life of Marc Chagall. In the New York Times best-selling See's Lady Tan's Circle of Women, Yunxian is trained by her physician grandmother in 15th-century China and works with a young midwife, but an arranged marriage threatens to confine her to a life of wifely subordination. Following Tsukiyama's much-praised The Color of Air, The Brightest Star reimagines the life of Anna May Wong, the only Asian American woman to achieve fame in Hollywood's early days. In the New York Times best-selling Williams's The Beach at Summerly, caretaker's daughter Emilia Winthrop is thrilled when charismatic role model Olive Rainsford arrives at Winthrop Island's Summerly estate in 1946, then is thrown into turmoil when she learns that someone at Summerly is transmitting secrets to the Soviets.

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. (June)