Lisa See: Lady Tan's Circle of Women, Simon + Schuster UK, paperback & ebook available

"Lady Tan's Circle of Women" falls into one of my favorite reading categories, historical based on true facts.  Who would have thought that China had female doctors in the 15th century who, although considered inferior,  where  extremely knowledgable and allowed to treat women's illnesses,  often working together with midwives.

Tan Yunxian really existed but Lisa See took fictional liberties to tell the captivating  story of a female doctor, born into an elite family,  who received her medical training from her grandmother, knowledge passed down through generations.   After being married into an aristocratic family with a mother in law from hell and no longer living under her grandparents protection,  she has to go against convention using every diplomatic skill to be able to help ailing women. 

This is also a  great story of female friendship.  Meiling, a midwife, and Tan seem destined by fate from girlhood onwards to become the rock in each others lives, working together to make female life medically safer during the Ming dynasty .  A great historical read, loved it.