The Empress and Mrs. Conger

by Hayter-menzies, Grant

• ISBN13: 9789888083008
• ISBN10: 9888083007
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2011-06-01
• Publisher: Hong Kong Univ Pr

Summary

This is the story of two women from worlds that could not seem farther apart--imperial China and the American Midwest--who found common ground before and after one of the greatest clashes between East and West, the fifty-five day siege of the Beijing foreign legations known as the Boxer Uprising. Using diaries, letters and other sources,The Empress and Mrs. Congertraces the parallel lives of Empress Dowager Cixi and American ambassador's wife Sarah Pike Conger, which converged to alter their perspectives of each other and each other's worlds.Grant Hayter-Menziesis the author ofImperial Masquerade: The Legend of Princess Der Lingand the biographer of stage and screen stars Charlotte Greenwood and Billie Burke."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 what we learn about Chinese history, but for what we learn about a woman profoundly typical of her era and class leading a life of determination in the belief that the right combination of positive attitudes and common sense must win out over adversity." - Timothy Brook, University of British Columbia

Table of Contents

List of illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgements	p. xiii
Introduction	p. 1
Eagle and Dragon	p. 5
Farmer's daughter	p. 7
Mother of China	p. 17
High walls	p. 27
Chinese Christians	p. 39
Daws in peacock's feathers	p. 51
Imperial audience	p. 59
Christmas in Beijing	p. 67
Unlocking the gates	p. 77
Gathering storm	p. 89
Battle in Beijing	p. 101
Shadow Boxers	p. 103
Siege	p. 127
Survival	p. 149
Saving Face	p. 179
Loot	p. 181
Reconciliation	p. 201
Sisterhood	p. 221
Portrait of a woman	p. 231
Forbidden cities	p. 249
Letters to China	p. 263
Notes	p. 279
Bibliography	p. 305
Index	p. 317
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