Adventurous Women in South-East Asia: Six Lives (Oxford in Asia Paperbacks) (Paperback)

by J. M. Gullick (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Sophia Raffles, Anna Leonowens, Harriette McDougal, Emily Innes, Isabella Bird, and Anna Forbes all came to South-East Asia as an encounter with an unknown world. It was an adventure in which they, and in some cases their children, were at risk of death by violence or disease, and they lived or travelled to remote places. In different ways they were all talented and observant. Each was a gifted writer who left a personal account of her experiences, what she saw, the people whom she met, and how they lived in parts of nineteenth century South-East Asia. The authors of the biographical essays in this volume have supplemented the personal remiscences of their subjects with information from other sources to provide original studies of six remarkable women throughout their lives, before, during, and after their time in South-East Asia.

About the Author
J. M. Gulllick is the premier historian on pre-war Malaya. He is the author of Malay Society in the Late Nineteenth Century (OUP, 1987) and Rulers and Residents (OUP, 1991).

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Eureka Pubns (January 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 967653076X
• ISBN-13: 978-9676530769
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,989,284 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars The real story of Anna (and the King of Siam)!, May 15, 2007

By	Anastasia Ashman "Co-editor, Tales from the E... (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Part of the terrific Oxford-in-Asia series, this easy-reading collection by various scholars examines the lives of 19th century Western women in the Asian tropics - pioneers like Sophia Raffles, the calamity-stricken wife of the British founder of Singapore, and Isabella Bird, the opinionated world traveler seeking to escape from civilization. It helped put into context my own struggling expatriate experience when I was living in steamy Malaysia... I especially appreciated reading about the dark side of these women's lives, like the widely unknown and checkered past of Anna Leonowens, the famous governess hired by the King of Siam! Illustrated with fine engravings from the women's own publications.