The Teahouse Fire

In 1860s Japan, a young American orphan named Aurelia Bernard finds herself taken in by a family of tea masters just as the country begins its turbulent shift from the shogunate era to the modern age. Immersed in the delicate, highly ritualized world of the tea ceremony, Aurelia becomes the assistant and confidante of Yukako, the daughter who will inherit the family’s tradition. As political upheaval brews outside, a subtler, more forbidden attraction grows between the two women. The Teahouse Fire is a sweeping historical novel of cultural transformation, art, and a love that must exist in silence.

~ Included for its tender depiction of sapphic longing set against a richly detailed historical backdrop. A beautifully layered novel that blends romance, art, and history with quiet intensity. ~