Lady Tan's Circle of Women

Inspired by the remarkable true story of a woman who defied the conventions of her time, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See is a captivating historical novel about friendship, resilience, and the transformative power of women helping women.

In fifteenth-century China, Tan Yunxian is born into an elite family but grows up acquainted with loss, loneliness, and separation. Raised by her grandparents, she receives an extraordinary education from her grandmother, one of the few female physicians of the Ming dynasty. Under her guidance, Yunxian learns the principles of Chinese medicine and the art of treating women whose illnesses male doctors are forbidden to examine.

Alongside Meiling, a young midwife-in-training, Yunxian discovers a deep friendship rooted in shared purpose and a desire to help others. Despite the rigid social boundaries that separate their professions and positions, the two girls promise to stand by one another through life’s joys and hardships, believing that beauty can bloom even in adversity.

But Yunxian’s arranged marriage threatens to destroy everything she holds dear. Confined to the family compound known as the Garden of Fragrant Delights, she is expected to fulfill the duties of a respectable wife: bear sons, practice domestic arts, and submit to tradition. Forbidden from seeing Meiling and from using her medical knowledge to help other women, Yunxian must find a way to reconcile her obligations with her calling.

Set against the richly detailed world of the Ming dynasty, Lady Tan’s Circle of Women explores the extraordinary obstacles women faced in pursuing knowledge, independence, and meaningful lives. As Yunxian fights to preserve her identity and practice her healing arts, the novel reveals how friendship can become both a source of strength and a powerful challenge to convention.

Rich in historical detail and deeply moving, Lisa See’s novel celebrates a pioneering woman whose medical legacy endured for centuries and whose story speaks to the courage required to forge a life on one’s own terms.