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Summary: When Kasumi leaves her remote village for the teeming city of Edo, her life is transformed. As a lady-in-waiting in a samurai mansion she discovers a rare talent for art and falls in love with a young samurai. How could she ever return to the life of a simple mountain girl? But Kasumi must set aside her own concerns. Her country is on the brink of change and Edo is simmering with tension. And her mistress has a dangerous secret -- a secret that Kasumi is gradually drawn into. Set against the vivid backdrop of nineteenth-century Japan, The Peony Lantern is a powerful story of art, love and friendship, and finding your own path.