Susan_A

I live in the Albany, NY area, so I thought I was pretty familiar with the Schuyler family. This book opened my eyes to another dimension of the Schuyler family entirely. Angelica was quite a firecracker. She was very opinionated, in social circles that helped broadened her horizons, which was quite astounding for a woman during those turbulent times. She was interested in politics and was acquainted with many prominent people of the time including George Washington, and Lafayette. Alexander Hamilton was her brother in law and confidant.

Molly Beer's extensive research pulls the story together. The book reads like a history book and would be of interest to anyone interested American history, women's studies, and New York history, I particular. I struggled to get through the early parts of the book which I found a bit slow. I also felt that the book could have used additional editing. But all in all a pretty good read.

The book is about Yun’s life in Imperial China, a time where feet binding, child marriage, and servitude are the norm. Yun is lucky enough to have a feminist grandmother who teaches her the honorable role of treating women. The book covers the multiple relationships that Yun has throughout her life, mostly female. It starts with her mother, who dies from complications from feet binding, her fathers concubine, her mother and law, grandmother, servant Poppy, and most importantly her friend and midwife, Meiling. The story is based on the diary of a real woman’s physician in the 15th century. The story moves along and there are twists along the way. A good book for readers of historical fiction.