The Binding Chair by Kathryn Harrison

Set in turn-of-the-century Shanghai, The Binding Chair follows May, a fiercely independent Chinese woman who escapes an arranged marriage and reinvents herself in the rapidly changing world of the city. Her life becomes intertwined with Arthur, a well-meaning Australian involved in the movement against foot binding, and with his extended family, particularly his young niece Alice, who forms a deep attachment to May. Moving between China and the West, Kathryn Harrison explores the complicated bonds between women, the search for freedom and belonging, and the ways love, cultural conflict, trauma, and power can shape a family—against the richly atmospheric backdrop of a world on the brink of enormous change.