The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery is a sweeping historical novel set in late 19th-century Japan, a time of political and cultural upheaval as the country opens to the West. Through the eyes of Aurelia, an American orphan taken in by the Shin family, proprietors of a prestigious tea school, the novel explores the shifting role of tea, evolving traditions, and the struggles of women navigating a changing society. Winner of the 2006 Lambda Literary Award and the 2008 Stonewall Book Award, this lushly detailed and richly atmospheric novel offers a compelling portrait of a pivotal moment in Japanese history.
Ellis Avery (1972–2019) was an American writer and a longtime student of the tea ceremony. The only author to win two Stonewall Book Awards, she also wrote The Last Nude, which received the award in 2013, as well as the memoir The Family Tooth. Her final work, Tree of Cats, was published posthumously.
The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery is a sweeping historical novel set in late 19th-century Japan, a time of political and cultural upheaval as the country opens to the West. Through the eyes of Aurelia, an American orphan taken in by the Shin family, proprietors of a prestigious tea school, the novel explores the shifting role of tea, evolving traditions, and the struggles of women navigating a changing society. Winner of the 2006 Lambda Literary Award and the 2008 Stonewall Book Award, this lushly detailed and richly atmospheric novel offers a compelling portrait of a pivotal moment in Japanese history.
Ellis Avery (1972–2019) was an American writer and a longtime student of the tea ceremony. The only author to win two Stonewall Book Awards, she also wrote The Last Nude, which received the award in 2013, as well as the memoir The Family Tooth. Her final work, Tree of Cats, was published posthumously.
