LADY TAN'S CIRCLE OF WOMEN

Jennifer Lim's immersive narration takes listeners to fifteenth-century China for a fictional account of the life of a woman doctor, Tan Yunxian. In an era when well-born women existed solely to produce heirs, Yunxian was trained by her grandparents, both doctors, to treat the illnesses of women. Her grandmother also encouraged friendship with the daughter of the local midwife, and, after her marriage, Yunxian is devastated when her mother-in-law forbids her continued relationship with Meiling, as well as her practice of healing the women in the family. Lim's restrained performance captures all the fascinating, if disturbing, details of bound feet, eunuchs, deadly diseases, and the courtly intrigue surrounding aristocratic life during the Ming dynasty. The foreword and afterword are authentically narrated by Justin Chien. S.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2023]