''The Teahouse Fire'' is a novel by

Ellis Avery Ellis Avery (born Elisabeth Atwood; October 25, 1972 – February 15, 2019) was an American writer. She won two Stonewall Book Awards (the only author to have done so), one in 2008 for her debut novel ''The Teahouse Fire'' and one in 2013 for her ...

set in late nineteenth century Japan published by Riverhead in the US in 2006 and to be published by

Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...

in the UK as a paperback original.

Plot summary

Set in late nineteenth century Japan, ''The Teahouse Fire'' is the story of Aurelia, a young French-American girl who, after the death of her mother and her missionary uncle, finds herself lost and alone and in need of a new family. Knowing only a few words of Japanese she hides in a Japanese

tea house A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only ser ...

and is adopted by the family who own it: gradually falling in love with both the

Japanese tea ceremony The Japanese tea ceremony (known as or lit. 'Hot water for tea') is a Culture of Japan, Japanese cultural activity involving the ceremonial preparation and presentation of , powdered green tea, the procedure of which is called . The term "Japa ...

and with her young mistress, Yukako. As Aurelia grows up she devotes herself to the family and its failing fortunes in the face of civil war and western intervention, and to Yukako's love affairs and subsequent marriage. But her feelings for her mistress seem doomed never to be reciprocated and, as tensions mount in the household, Aurelia begins to realise that to the world around her she will never be anything but an outsider.

Awards and nominations

*Winner of the Ohioana Library Fiction Award *Winner of the Lesbian Debut Fiction prize at the

Lambda Literary Awards Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary Foundation, Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ+ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ+ literatur ...

*Winner of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

Stonewall Book Awards

Barbara Gittings Barbara Gittings (July 31, 1932 – February 18, 2007) was an American LGBTQ movements, LGBTQ activist. She started the New York City, New York chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis (DOB) in 1958, edited the national DOB magazine ''The Ladde ...

Literature Award

References

2006 American novels Literature by women Novels about lesbian topics Stonewall Book Award–winning works American LGBTQ novels Lambda Literary Award–winning works Novels set in Japan American historical novelists Novels set in the 19th century 2000s LGBTQ novels 2006 debut novels Japan in non-Japanese culture 2006 LGBTQ-related literary works {{2000s-LGBT-novel-stub