Anna and the King [Mass Market Paperback]

Elizabeth Hand (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 8, 1999

Arriving in Siam as governess to the King's royal children, the recently widowed Anna brings with her a fiercely independent spirit, a passion for justice, and a hidden loneliness.

As Anna learns more about her exotic students and their proud, handsome father, the ancient, exotic land of Siam approaches a critical moment in history. fighting to keep his equal -- and more. In Anna and the King, the world will rediscover the "almost true" story of love, loyality, and loss that has moved generations to gentle smiles and bittersweet tears.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Elizabeth Hand is the award-winning author of six novels, including Black Light and Waking the Moon, and one short story collection, Last Summer at Mars Hill.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: HarperEntertainment; First Edition edition (December 8, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061020451
• ISBN-13: 978-0061020452
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #317,609 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A couple of years after seeing Patti Smith perform, Elizabeth Hand flunked out of college and became involved in the nascent punk scenes in DC and NYC. From 1979 to 1986 she worked at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air & Space Museum; she was eventually readmitted to university to study cultural anthropology, and received her B.A. She is the author of many novels, including Winterlong, Waking the Moon (Tiptree and Mythopoeic Award-Winner), Glimmering, and Mortal Love, and three collections of stories, including the recent Saffron and Brimstone. Her fiction has received the Nebula, World Fantasy, Mythopeoic, Tiptree, and International Horror Guild Awards, and her novels have been chose as New York Times and Washington Post Notable Books. She has also been awarded a Maine Arts Commission Fellowship. A regular contributor to the Washington Post Book World and The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Hand lives with her family on the Maine Coast.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Anna and the King : Novelization, February 28, 2000

By 

Vishnu Kotrajaras (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anna and the King (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed the book (and the movie immensely). The scene setting and the flow of the story, including the development of characters are well established. Being a Thai, I have to point out, however, that the story is 95% fiction. But I do believe it will help encourage people to do their own research about Thailand. Good entertainment!

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Superb, December 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Anna and the King (Mass Market Paperback)

I enjoyed the book (and the movie) immensely. For all those who are still squabbling about the "historical accuracy" of the film, please, just enjoy it as it is. Plenty of films that have claimed "historical accuracy" (aka The Prince of Egypt, Gettysburg) are only about 50% accurate, having been modified with "artistic license." Though Anna and the King might be almost all fiction, it's an incredibly moving story that is a wonderful reprieve from the "sex and violence" movies of our times.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A PERFECT companion to the movie, September 4, 2000

By 

"annairis" (SF SD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Anna and the King (Mass Market Paperback)

For those of us who have seen 'Anna and the King' (the best movie ever made:) and left the theater wanting more, more, more, go get this book. I did. I'm quite familiar with movie novelazations, and Elizabeth Hand did a great job. Not many can do justice to the movie, or vice versa, but I can't believe how good this book is. It's a MUST for 'Anna' fanatics, because the book details a lot of scenes that had to be cut from the movie for length, gos into what the characters are feeling, describes rooms, everything the screens couldn't show.. I am SO reccomending this to everybody. My copy is worn and tattered now, I carry it around and pretty much have it memorized! Do yourself a favor, 'Anna' fiends such as myself, check this book out!!