Pavilion Of Women

Rockefeller Center, New York: Pocket Books Inc. -A Cardinal Edition, 1957. Pocket Books Second Printing . Mass Market. Very Good. Bingham, James - Cover Illustration. 419 Pages. This is Cardinal Edition C-105 2nd Printing dated January 1957. This is a book from the Saviteer collection of books with an ex-libris on the front endpaper. Interior text pages are near flawless. An extremely interesting novel of an upper-class Chinese wife's quest for freedom. At forty, Madame Wu is beautiful and much respected as the wife of one of China's oldest upper-class houses. Her birthday wish is to find a young concubine for her husband and to move to separate quarters, starting a new chapter of her life. When her wish is granted, she finds herself at leisure, no longer consumed by running a sixty-person household. Now she's free to read books previously forbidden her, to learn English, and to discover her own mind. The family in the compound are shocked at the results, especially when she begins learning from a progressive, excommunicated Catholic priest. In its depiction of life in the compound, this book includes some of Buck's most enchanting writing about the seasons, daily rhythms, and customs of women in China. It is a delightful parable about the sexes, and of the profound and transformative effects of free thought.