Nancy's Book Group - Lady Tan's Circle of Women

“Though we do not wholly believe it yet, the interior life is a real life, and the intangible dreams of people have a tangible effect on the world.” - James Baldwin.

Please join Nancy Zachary in the Scott Room to discuss Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See.

"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. ... Women’s friendships in a world where they have little freedom shape a quietly moving book." - Kirkus.