The Empress and Mrs. Conger: The Uncommon Friendship of Two Women and Two Worlds

Review
“Grant Hayter-Menzies brings his talent for recreating the material, cultural and mental textures of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to bear on the story of Sarah Conger. He presents the reader not only a story, not only characters, but

“Sarah Conger's story is worth telling for many reasons. She occupied a point in time that makes her interesting, but the author demonstrates that she is interesting in her own right―a flawed and fascinating individual whose story we want to read not for

“In his meticulously researched and enjoyable dissection of an unlikely relationship between two complex women―an American diplomat’s wife Sarah Pike Conger and Cixi, Empress Dowager of China―Grant Hayter-Menzies exposes many paradoxes that still characte

“Hayter-Menzies takes advantage of his literary talent and cultural sensibility, telling a story about the friendship of two extraordinary women and their experience in a changing world.” – Shuo Wang, California State University Stanislaus
--This text refers to the hardcover edition.