Edwards (Asian studies, Australian Catholic U.) examines Chinese prescriptions of gender as represented in The Red Chamber Dream , an 18th century Chinese novel of manners. Using feminist literary critical methods, she discusses such topics as bisexuality, the womanly virtue of chastity, the sexualized woman warrior, and the interaction between sex and class. Four of the nine chapters were previously published in various journals. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)