'Hannah Pakula presents Madame Chiang as far more complex, awful and brilliant than we had imagined... absorbing... we see a brilliant, scheming, deliberately alluring, brave corrupt chameleon of a woman who was Chiang's main weapon in playing the Americans for nearly all they were worth.' -- Jonathan Mirsky THE SCOTSMAN 'Manipulative and glamorous, Madame Chiang beguiled the US and kept her husband in favour... well-illustrated... well-written history of modern China' -- Brenda Maddox THE TIMES 'Madame Chiang Kai-Shek had a major hand in the founding of Modern China, acting as champion, secretary, advisor and translator to her husband Chiang Kai-Shek... Her story is told with great authority by Hannah Pakula.' CHOICE MAGAZINE 'fascinating... Pakula's story of May-ling's conquest of America is extraordinary.' THE GUARDIAN 'an engrossing life which spanned the 20th century and included a cast of extraordinary admirers, from Chinese warlords to Churchill... the book is full of fascinating detail' THE SPECTATOR

Hannah Pakula attended Wellesley College, the Sorbonne and Southern Methodist University. She is a book reviewer for the LOS ANGELES TIMES.