Bronze Drum

Drawing on a real episode from ancient Vietnam, this novel follows Trưng Trắc and Trưng Nhi, two sisters who assembled an army of women to drive out the Han Chinese and then govern a unified people as queens. Readers who enjoyed Circe and The Night Tiger may find a similar pull here. The story opens with a call to the children of Chu Diên to listen closely, and a warning that telling the tale of the Trưng sisters is risky in uncertain times.

In 40 CE, in the Lạc Việt region, two daughters of a Vietnamese lord divide their days between training, study, and keeping faithfully to their people's customs. Trưng Trắc is measured and wise, excelling at her responsibilities, while Trưng Nhi is wild and independent, drawn to the gardens and to romantic entanglements.

The sisters and the people around them live under the heavy hand of Han Chinese rule. They are required to take up Confucian teachings, accept carefully arranged marriages, and pay taxes that keep climbing. As resentment builds toward a breaking point, the land moves ever closer to open war.