Lady Tan's Circle of Women: A Novel

I absolutely loved this and could hardly put it down. Lisa See really takes you into the lives of women in 15th century China. Although this is fiction, it's based on a real woman - China's first female doctor. That said (spoiler alert coming up now!) .... you'll find it was really her grandmother who was the first doctor. This book encouraged me to research themes like foot binding, eunuchs, concubines, and traditional Chinese medicine. Lisa See's writing style is exquisite and beautiful. I'll definitely be reading more of her books!

Great book! I couldn't put it down. A very visual story, easy to follow, with interesting and relatable characters. Friendship, love, murder, mystery... this novel has everything. Will be reading more from this author.

“Illness comes not only from the body but from the spirit.” These words by Lisa See encapsulate the soul of Lady Tan’s Circle of Women, a beautifully woven tale of resilience, love, and the bonds of sisterhood in imperial China. Inspired by the life of Tan Yunxian, a historical woman physician, this novel immerses readers in a world where medicine, tradition, and patriarchy collide. From her privileged upbringing to her unexpected journey into medicine, Lady Tan’s life is both restricted by her time and enriched by her determination to heal. At its heart, this book is about connection—particularly the strength women can offer each other in a world intent on silencing them. Yunxian’s bond with Meiling, her midwife-turned-best friend, is central to her journey. “A circle of women strengthens and protects,” Meiling tells her, a sentiment that shapes Yunxian’s outlook and her courage to defy the expectations imposed upon her. Lisa See brings 15th-century China to life with vivid, meticulous detail. Readers are transported to lush gardens, bustling markets, and hushed sickrooms where “illness is both a curse and a puzzle.” The immersive narrative also uncovers themes of class, gender, and the sacrifices made in the pursuit of knowledge. Yunxian’s resilience in pursuing her calling, even as society tries to confine her to the four walls of womanhood, is truly inspiring. As she reflects, “I cannot change the world, but I can change a life.” These words echo her lasting impact as a healer and the profound emotional weight of her story. Lisa See crafts a tale as intricate and meaningful as Yunxian’s medicinal cures—a celebration of tradition, rebellion, and the unyielding power of women’s solidarity.

Novela basada en personas reales. Combina realidad y ficción explicando como era la sociedad en China en el s. XV

Emotionally charged, cautiously intimate, brilliantly written, extensively researched, and vividly depicted, so much so this book helped create such vibrant mind pictures for me that I was transported back to the Ming dynasty. A time when women were closet humans, controlled by men and forced to succumb to some quite brutal practices, like foot binding. Too often they were disowned by the men who took them as wives and concubines, but sometimes it was the inner power and strength of women rather than men’s rule that dictated family life and relationships. Tan is one of those women. A trailblazer who deserves her place in history, and a great book for us to savour for years to come. The Plot - Tan Yunxian, and Meiling are two girls from very different backgrounds. One born into an elite family, which is Tan, while Meiling must navigate her way through the dangerous world of practicing midwifery. Why perilous? Because a few difficult births or deaths can see these women ostracised from society with no means of support, and blamed for the wrong outcome at birth. However, both girls share a few things; they are both born in the Year of the Metal Snake, their love of medicine gives them their strength and their friendship is an unbreakable bond that carries them through so much disappointment, betrayal, loss, death, social instability and disapproval. “Friendship is a contract between two hearts. With hearts united, women can laugh and cry, live and die together”. When both girls come of age, they marry men from different backgrounds and in line with tradition. However, something worse dreadful separates them personally and through a deadly breakout of smallpox they both suffer loss and isolation in the Garden of Fragrant Delights. It is through this tragic time, and having no remedy to relieve the anguish of losing children so cruelly that Tan begins to noticeably create her ‘circle of women’. After uncovering a plot devised by Doctor Wong, she then receives the long awaited endorsement and approval to treat women, and for the first time is acknowledged as a Doctor in her husband’s household. Review and Comments - What a fascinating, engrossing, enlightening and heavily nuanced book about Tan, a female doctor who risked so much to heal women that men were incapable of treating, for many reasons, not least because the male doctors never physically examined or had sight of many of the women they were responsible for diagnosing. I love the principle of yin and yang and it was in the friendship of Tan and Meiling with all its twists and moments of tumult, that portrayed the yin and yang of life so perfectly. The constant push and pull between good and evil, love and hate, honour, and disgrace, all of which follow each other in an unending cycle, that was constant through the book. Despite many of the female conditions like ‘monthly moon water’ being sensitively dealt with, I thought there was a bit too much detail in places that we didn’t need to hear about and so often. Not that I endorse denying nature, and the human body in all its wonderment, but the details could have been scaled back a little, especially when they didn’t add much to certain scenes. This is incredible storytelling that combines fact with fiction to portray the portrait of a lady, a doctor and a woman who would be known for generations to come for her medical dominance in the treatment of women and her daring actions to treat and record her diagnosis and findings. However, she was a mother, a wife, a daughter, and the most wonderful friend and granddaughter. A role model for all generations and all ‘circles of women’. I adored this story, I get so engrossed in the stories of people, particularly women who survive against the odds. Powerful and passionate characters that make a difference. Meet Tan.