Historical fiction is really hit or miss for me but this one kept me reading and had an engaging cast of characters. Set in 15th century China, the book follows one main character (Lady Tan) from childhood to death - she becomes a doctor of the time and is close friends with a midwife. There are various plot points that keep the book moving along. It hardly needs to be said but the state of the world for women at this time was not good - this makes the book a bit depressing. But Lady Tan’s ability to persist through challenges is the book’s saving grace. Some themes you’ll find in the book are motherhood, friendship, family, supernatural forces (afterlife), and some marriage theming.

It is a bit long and some of the stories are repetitive - there’s also a good amount of material that describes the landscape and different herbs or potions - details not too necessary to keep the plot moving.

Thank you to Scribner Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel.

I was so excited to get the ARC of this novel. Lisa See is one of my favorite authors. I have loved all of her books and this one did not disappoint. This book is so well researched and I love the author's notes at the end, telling about the real life people in the novel.

This novel is based on the real life story of Tan Yunxian, a woman doctor in 15th Century China, who recorded her practice in a book. It was interesting to learn that many women that Yunxian treated in the novel were based on real cases from her actual book. I felt like I learned so much about Chinese medicine and the life of women during this time period in China. I did not know that male doctors at that time could not examine female patients. Since there were very few women doctors, (just midwives to assist with births), this made Yunxian's role as a doctor even more extraordinary and important to the women who were fortunate to be treated by her. Not only is this the story of Yunxian's practice of treating women, it is equally a story of the incredible bond that existed between Yunxian's "circle of women", whether it was the bond between mother/daughter and grandmother/granddaughter or between friends and family. If you are a fan of Lisa See and historical fiction, you will not want to miss this book when it comes out in June.

Lisa See doesn't disappoint. Her research into Chinese history and medicine is absolutely engaging and thorough. Her characters' experiences flow with a rhythm that draws you into their daily lives. Some of the ancient traditions discussed are not for the faint of heart though. These traditions could be cruel especially in the 1500 century when women were expected to be complacent, subservient, bear children (especially sons), and to help advance the family status when possible. The book exposes you to generations of high status women and how they dealt with these challenges. Many emotions and a bit of mystery are all explored. There is a large focus on female illnesses, childbearing and cures administered by the main character who was influenced by her grandparents. There is such care and wisdom displayed in their teachings and actions. The protagonist comes from a real women living in the time period that wrote a book on her cures etc. After many of the chapters I was caught up in thoughts regarding their words of wisdom. The descriptions of the gardens, textiles, jewelry, teas and herbs were vivid enough it was like watching a movie. I did feel the ending was a bit rushed but the book was an enjoyable and informative experience. A true journey in written form.

Another fabulous historical novel from Lisa See - this time exploring women physicians from 15th-century China, inspired by a true story. We see the impact of Confucius's "an educated woman is a worthless woman" on our protagonist as she deals with the physical and emotional impact of death, bound feet, arranged marriages, and the art of traditions forced upon her. I was wrapped up in Xunxian's story and path to becoming a renowned physician during a time when that was clearly not the norm. What a wonderful woman who's story seemed to be lost to history and mediocre men, but is being unearthed in this fantastical tale! 10/10 would recommend!

I was surprised and will continue to be ever grateful to Scribner for the this ARC via NetGalley. Thank you thank you thank you! #LisaSeeFanForever

Lisa See never disappoints, and this book is no exception. Set in 1500's China, Tan is the daughter of an educated family. When her mother dies, she is sent to live with her grandparents. Her grandfather is an educated Dr and her grandmother has learned medicine from the women in her family. Tan learns all about medicines, treatments, and birthing through her grandmother and a local midwife. The story is based on Tan Yunxian, who treated women in her family and community. She eventually went on to write a medical book about treating females that is still in print today.

Thanks to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for the advanced copy.

This book is absolutely luminous! I'm a big fan of Lisa See and she's outdone herself this time. Part historical fiction, part mystery, part women's fiction, I could not put this book down. Set in China during the 1400 - 1500's, it's the story of Tan Yunxian, a female doctor in a time when women aren't considered much of anything. The book chronicles her lifelong friendship with Meiling, a midwife's daughter, here relationship with her her family and that of husband and her mother-in-law. See's research is impeccable, not just in regards to medicine, but also tea, fashion, female/male relationships, and court hierarchy. Don't miss this book!

Lisa See’s writing has a way of transporting you to the past with such meticulous research & detail. Lady Tan’s story is filled with a cast of women & friendships that caught my heart. Although the status of women in ancient China is beyond understanding, the courage, sacrifice & determination found in Lady Tan’s Circle of Women represent the strength within all women.

Let me preface this by saying I would read anything Lisa See writes without a second thought, and will undoubtedly enjoy it. I think she’s brilliant and entertaining; her research on each novel is exceptional.

This book was no different. I really loved it. Enjoyed every page. That being said, it did feel different to me at times. More like commentary on a character or situation rather than them living in the moment. Perhaps more narration? I’m not completely sure, but it would take me out of the narrative just a bit - like I was reading opinions of a life vs. watching it be lived.

Don’t let that stop you though. It’s a beautiful book about a truly exceptional woman. Women, actually! I’m sorry it’s over mostly because I know I’ll have a long wait before my next See novel.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC - my impatience for this one’s release was real!

Once again, Lisa See delivers a beautiful glimpse into Chinese history, following the life of a remarkable woman— a doctor. It is amazing that women, who are notoriously overlooked and silenced throughout history, are finally being celebrated through years of dedicated research.

More like 3.5. I was looking forward to reading the new Lisa See. I have read and enjoyed all of her books. As always, she puts a lot of time and effort into researching her books and is able to make time periods come alive. While I appreciate the research that went into this book, I can't say it was my favorite. I didn't love the narrative style of this book. It felt stilted and one dimensional.. I felt like she was trying to cover too much ground, and didn't do any of the material the full attention it needed. I think I would have like this better in different narrative style. Thanks to Net Gallery for this opportunity.

Firstly, thank you, Lisa See, for all the incredible research you did in writing this book..I'm so grateful this story was sparked by a book sitting on your shelf. Secondly, thank you to Covid (believe it or not) for giving Ms. See the impetus for this amazing novel. I have read all of Ms. See's novels and they just keep getting better and better with every single one. I fell in love with the women in LADY TAN'S CIRCLE OF WOMEN, and what women they are. Lady Tan, Meiling, Lady Tan's Grandmother Ru!!!, Miss Chen, and Lady Kuo, only to name a few...family members, friends and concubines. Reading one of Ms. See's books is like studying Chinese history! and this book is a wonder in learning about Chinese medicine using herbs and intuition, and on top of all this a wondrous story about love, life and friendships. Thank you, Lisa See for this beautiful story, and many thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Publishing for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.
LADY TAN'S CIRCLE OF WOMEN - in my top five books!

Many thanks to Net Galley and Scribner for this eARC. I am a huge sucker for historical fiction, and this book was no exception. Lisa See does a fantastic job of transporting the reader to imperial China, focusing the narrative on the trials of Yunxian, aka Lady Tan, as she grows up and marries into a new family. Yunxian receives medical training from both of her grandparents, but she has a special connection with her grandmother, Grandmother Ru. Yunxian has to grapple with the challenges of being trained as a Confucian doctor, one who doesn't deal with blood, while also trying to tend to the needs of women in child birth, an innately bloody business. The novel not only focuses on Yunxian and her position in the Chinese elite but also her friend Meiling, who serves as an assistant midwife to her mother, Midwife Shi. The novel explores the connection between these two girls, but also the intricacies of class, gender, and career. A delightful and intoxicating read!

This is one of those historical fiction books that immediately transport you straight from your couch to the time and place of the story! Grab a cup of tea, snuggle under a blanket, and prepare to immerse yourself in sights and sounds of the late 1400s in China.

The book follows the based-on-a-true story trials and hardships of Yunxian's life. Yunzian has moments of fortune and moments of despair as she learns to practice medicine during the Ming Dynasty in China. The attention to detail concerning daily life, customs, and medical practices of this time make me want to learn more about the Ming Dynasty and the women who lived then.

NetGalley and the publisher provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In "Lady Tan's Circle of Women" Lisa See transports us to 15th-16th century China., Our storyteller, Tan Yunxian, is a young girl born into the Confucian scholar-elite class.. Her mother has died and her father travels as he continues his scholarly pursuits and chases the dream of being presented to the Emperor as an Imperial Scholar. Yunxian is raised by her paternal grandparents and one of her father's concubines, Miss Zhao, who is also the mother to her half brother.. Her grandmother is a rare thing - a woman doctor in the time when, according to Confucius, “an educated woman is a worthless woman,” Yunxian is matched with a young peasant girl, Meiling, who will be bound to her for life. These are but a few of the women in Tan's circle.

Yunxian is trained by her grandmother to diagnose and treat women's illnesses. She is encouraged to write about her cases and log all her treatments and results. Meiling is training to be a midwife, like her mother, While a doctor will never touch blood a midwife works in a world full of the" tainted". life source.. YunXian has bound feet as part of her elite class traditions. This is to make her more alluring to her future husband..
Meiling has not had her feet bound, so she is able to move more freely. Together, they make a formidable team.

Yunxian is arranged to marry into the Yang family. and moves to her new husband's family home. She must learn to navigate this new world and be subservient and please her mother in law as her grandmother still pushes her progress with her medical tutelage . She sees how women are treated as possessions, being bought and sold. Valued only to provide a male heir and discarded if they fail to do so.

Yunxian is faced with an ultimate medical case- one that will determine the fate of her children and the women that surround her. It is here that we see how the fires of her trials have forged.

Lisa See creates a vivid world with her words. The story is intricately detailed, but not weighed down with the vast amounts of research that obviously went into this tale. This is based upon a real woman doctor of the time., which leaves me in awe.

This is study of the value of woman's from all parts of society both then and now. It is a testament to the unique bonds that women have with each other as mothers, daughters, sister friends and mentors. Extremely intimate bonds are created at a time when words and actions could not allow you to create those ties in the way that we can now..

This is my favorite of Lisa See's novels since "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan". She continues to be one of my favorite authors and I continue to look forward to each of her new works..

My thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I received this Advance Readers Copy (ARC) from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed Lisa See's writing in "The Island of Sea Women," and "The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane" -- but I am not as big a fan of her other novels, such as "Snowflower and the Secret Fan."

This novel was very interesting and I found it compelling, but it felt as if there was an unnecessary distance between the reader and the protagonist. I enjoyed it, but I doubt I will think of the novel's characters again months or years later -- as I have with the other Lisa See novels that I mentioned above. Her work was incredibly poignant in "The Island of Sea Women", and I have thought about the protagonist from that novel dozens of times since I read it for the first and only time in 2019/2020.

If you enjoyed "Snowflower and the Secret Fan", I strongly recommend this new novel by See. I think Lady Tan is a truly interesting and fascinating woman in her era, and See manages to pull together an unusual story from history. However, the Imperial visit and criminal inquests plot points seem a bit far fetched to me.

Overall I enjoyed this story but I feel there could have been more immediacy to the writing, to truly bring the reader into the story.

You always learn something new in a Lisa See book. This is not my favorite,
but it was interesting. She puts so much work into resesrch. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I am a fan of Lisa See's work, so was thrilled to read "Lady Tan's Circle of Women." The details, rituals, beauty and ugliness of Yunxian's life immediately captured my interest. This story demonstrates the power of women, and the instrinsic value of their friendships. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Several years ago, my best friend and I had the opportunity to see/meet Lisa See, at an author's luncheon. I was so intrigued not only by the book (The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane), and then fell in absolute LOVE with The Island of the Sea Women. When I saw the new title was to be published, Lady Tan's Circle of Women I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. This one was beautiful, based on the author's painstaking research, and such a interesting book of historical fiction that I'll be thinking about it for some time. The manner in which women lived, midwives, women with a great knowledge of Eastern Medicine and more. I'm not sure I could have loved this book more. Trust me and preorder or purchased this book right away. A huge thanks to Scribner Books, NetGalley and the author for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I've read a number of Lisa See's earlier novels, so jumped at the chance to read her latest work. "Lady Tan's Circle of Women" takes us back to China during the Ming Dynasty in the 15th-16th century, told from the perspective of Tan Yunxian, a woman born into an elite family due to the position her father holds as an imperial scholar. As a young child, Yunxian is raised by the women around her - her grandmother who works as a rare female, her mother, and her father's concubine, Miss Zhao. Unfortunately, as a child, Yunxian loses her mother to infection and she barely has time to grieve before she's betrothed to son of a Yang family. Thankfully, she's able to have Meiling at her side, the daughter of a midwife - a group of women who are looked upon poorly given how frequently they encounter "tainted substances" like blood and gore.

The story follows Yunxian as she becomes a wife and mother, and how she's able to utilize her medical learnings from her grandmother to help the women around her. We watch as well as her relationships to the women surrounding her - to Meiling, her mother-in-law, her daughters - evolves and change over time. The novel is a cutting look into the treatment of women centuries ago in China (and, to be fair, many parts of the world) and how one woman championed the focus on health and medicine specific to women.

While I appreciated the premise of this novel, this was not my favorite work of See's. I struggled with the writing, especially as it was told in the first person perspective of Yunxian; much of the prose felt restricted and deliberate, a mere retelling of events as they unfolded. There were so many events and occurrences that happened - the painful footbinding of women, the selling and buying of concubines, the punishments doled out to women for things outside of their control - that infuriated me, but are merely glossed over. Yunxian seemed like a passive observer to her own life, and it was only in the final fourth of the novel that I felt like she developed a stronger personality and morality, taking her own life in her hands and choosing to utilize her skills to help those around her.

I nonetheless believe this is a novel that many will appreciate, especially given the extent of research See has done for it and the factual basis to a number of these characters and cases.

There are few books that can entertain and educate. This book does that. It draws you in with characters and their relationships as well as delving into the medical practices of 15th century China.. it also includes some serious plot twists that completely surprised me. I loved Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, so I hoped this book would be just as good. I was not disappointed.