Customer Reviews

The English Governess at the Siamese Court

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Probably one of the strangest things about my reading of The English Governess at the Siamese Court, was the location in which I found the book. I was rummaging through the books at the Asia Book Store on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok, looking for mindless mysteries to pass the time between tailor fittings. I was astonished to find a copy in Bangkok, knowing the Thai feelings toward Anna Leonowens. All I can say about the book is, now I have a complete understanding of why they would feel that way about her. Mrs. Leonowens view is so ethnocentric as to be bordering blatant racism. She takes no time to understand the culture around her, and fills her writings with the basest stereotypes of Asian culture found so prevalently in Victorian Imperial culture. Even when she does give credit to the Thai people for the beauty of their culture, it is done with an air of surprise, that these "primitives" could develop something of beauty.

BUT, this should not stop anyone from reading the book (thus my rating of four stars). The book should be read if only to gauge the growth that has been achieved in the last one hundred and thirty years. The book is an interesting look back at the accepted viewpoint of the nineteenth century. Mrs. Leonowens is a perfect mirror of the superior attitude of the Anglo-Saxon in his drive to finally control 3/4 of the earth. All in all, this book is a very interesting trip into the past.

I've loved the musical and movie versions of this story since forever, so it was a no-brainer to finally read the book. As with many memoirs of travelers from this period, the story was less plot and more historical and cultural details of Siam than anything. The book's story is familiar to everyone and the style is full of Victorian British Exceptionalism and rife with unconscious bigotry - but that part is to be expected.

If one appreciates the Victorian writing style, then this is a good example of and worth the read. If you're not familiar with this style, it's still worth a read, but it's probably not what you're expecting.

This is one of a few books which are written by Anna Leonowens herself as a English teacher in Siam. For those of you who wants to know more about Anna herself and her dairy, should read this book. It describes the Siamese court from a historical point of view, bring you back to 19th century.

Other reviews of this book have emphasized the author's racist and colonialist bias, and any reader will recognize the prejudice of the Victorian Christian against "pagans" and the contemptuous or at best amused condescension toward the "inferior races." But the reviewers are themselves biased in failing to see that this is not the only significant influence on Leonowens' viewpoint. She is also a woman with a sensitivity for emotional mood and a strong feeling of sisterly solidarity with other women, across "racial" lines. Her pity for the poor women and children confined and enslaved in the despot's harem and her insights into how they struggle to survive in this peculiar environment reflect a proto-feminist as well as a colonialist consciousness.

For instance, suppose that a foreign visitor came not from one of the colonial powers but from another non-colonial society that allowed women a certain degree of freedom. Suppose that she was an Iroquois or an indigenous Australian. Surely many of her reactions to the harem would be the same. I suspect that the hostility of many (surely not all) Thais to this book arises not only from the colonialist attitudes of the author but also from the fact that the social evils she describes are far from being fully overcome. I expect that the reaction of an anti-monarchist Thai woman to the book would not be wholly negative. Colonialism and its survivals are not the only evils in the world, and anti-colonialism should not be misused to shield other evils from exposure.

Within its obvious limitations, this book is a colorful and detailed description of a lost natural and social landscape and can be valued as such.

This book should be listed under "historical fiction" or "Mere Opinions of an English Imperialist Victorian Woman". The book upon which the fun movie "The Kind and I" is based, is only the very jaundiced view by an arrogant Victorian Englishwoman of Thai life in the age of Imperialism and not in the slightest a reflection of the true reality. Her portrayal of King Mongkut (Rama IV) borders on libel. Instead of the ignorant barbarian she portrays he was actually an incredibly cultured and sophisticated and enlightened man who, among other things, saved his country from colonization (only Thailand, Japan, and Ethiopia were not subjected by the imperialist powers in the 19th century) by playing the English off against the French while cultivating good relations with them. For a true portrayal of the kind and the times, read MONGKUT, KING OF SIAM, by A.L. Moffat, not this book.

this is the real story of an english governess in a siamese court.i enjoyed the book. however,the play and movies were more colourful.

Leonowens will never realize how she has condemned an entire nation with her lies. True, Thais do revere their kings and do not see them as being human. However, in the case of King Mongkut you have a truly remarkable man, do your homework before making judgements, and keep in mind that Leonowens was exposed to common Thai people most of the time but instead chose to write about the royalty to make $$$. I am truly saddened that King Mongkut a highly tolerant and far sighted ruler must stand in the shadow of lies. I challenge you to research western sources regarding this man. I agree that Thailand should not ban these films or books because they reveal how the West (whom they have always admired) regards them in the 19th century and even today. The fact that no modern scholar has come forth to introduce King Mongkut to the world has burdened Thais to rightfully defend themselves and in doing so make Leonowen's account seem hilariously "unbiased".