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Susan Morgan

Bombay Anna: The Real Story and Remarkable Adventures of the King and I Governess Hardcover – July 7, 2008

by Susan Morgan (Author)

27 ratings

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If you thought you knew the story of Anna in The King and I, think again. As this riveting biography shows, the real life of Anna Leonowens was far more fascinating than the beloved story of the Victorian governess who went to work for the King of Siam. To write this definitive account, Susan Morgan traveled around the globe and discovered new information that has eluded researchers for years. Anna was born a poor, mixed-race army brat in India, and what followed is an extraordinary nineteenth-century story of savvy self-invention, wild adventure, and far-reaching influence. At a time when most women stayed at home, Anna Leonowens traveled all over the world, witnessed some of the most fascinating events of the Age of Empire, and became a well-known travel writer, journalist, teacher, and lecturer. She remains the one and only foreigner to have spent significant time inside the royal harem of Siam. She emigrated to the United States, crossed all of Russia on her own just before the revolution, and moved to Canada, where she publicly defended the rights of women and the working class. The book also gives an engrossing account of how and why Anna became an icon of American culture in The King and I and its many adaptations.

Print length

300 pages
Language

English
Publisher

University of California Press
Publication date

July 7, 2008
Dimensions

6 x 0.81 x 9 inches
ISBN-10

0520252268
ISBN-13

978-0520252264
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Alfred Habegger
25
Hardcover
26 offers from $6.16

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

According to Morgan, the inspiration for the governess to the royal Siamese children in the 1950s musical The King and I, Anna Leonowens (1831–1915) was not the genteel British lady she purported to be, but a low-born, Anglo-Indian army brat who had severed ties with her family in India. A young widow living in Singapore, Leonowens was hired by King Mongkut to teach his wives and 82 children English. An absolute monarch committed to improving his people's lives and avoiding foreign control of his country, Mongkut had no romantic interest in Leonowens but shared her deep love of learning, occasionally consulted her on state issues and considered her arguments about the treatment of his enslaved harem. After Siam, the irrepressible Leonowens again reinvented herself as an eminent author and public lecturer in the U.S. and Canada, a social reformer and suffragist in Canada, a journalist in Russia and a Sanskrit scholar in Germany. Miami University English professor Morgan (Place Matters) uncovers and competently demonstrates the achievements of an extraordinary Victorian woman, but her biography is undermined by repetitious and charmless prose, underdeveloped analyses of Western/Thai political relationships and unfocused ramblings about the nature of biography. 15 b&w photos. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

“A lively incarnation of Anna, one that gives the character of the musical and movies full humanity in historical context.” (Scotia W. MacRae Philadelphia Inquirer 2008-10-22)

“Morgan paints a satisfying, multifaceted portrait. Engrossing retelling of an extraordinary life, correcting many popular misconceptions.” (Kirkus Reviews 2008-02-15)

“This informed and entertaining biography reveals Leonowens as an intriguing and complex woman, whose interests ranged far beyond young lovers and whistling happy tunes.” (Karl Helicher Foreword 2008-09-01)

“A fascinating, scholarly work.” (Faye Harkins Library Journal 2008-03-01)

“Pick up Bombay Anna and be prepared to find an inspiring story of an incredible woman.” (Jessica Jacobson Feminist Review 2008-10-10)

“An ambitious, engaging, informative work of scholarship, one that is hard not to rate a genuine success.” (New Mandala ; Tailand-Laos-Cambodia Group 2010-10-19)

“This book is in part the story of two Annas. . . . The real story is more compelling than the fiction.” (The Bloomsbury Review 2009-07-01)

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of California Press; 1st edition (July 7, 2008)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 300 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0520252268
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0520252264
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.81 x 9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,898,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,805 in Historical Asian Biographies (Books)
- #4,347 in British & Irish Literary Criticism (Books)
- #27,603 in Women's Biographies

Customer Reviews:
27 ratings

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4.1 out of 5

27 global ratings

5 star		57%
4 star		13%
3 star		21%
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1 star		8%

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kinderkids

Interesting, well reseached

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 8, 2022

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I loved learning the historical context of Anna, where she came from and the author’s insights on how she reinvented herself and why. She was a gumptious and brilliant woman.. I didn’t give it five stars, tho, because the author Susan Morgan seems to be just another in the tiresome litany of historians that pretend to be objective but insert their own worldview biases throughout the entire book…Even in many cases projecting them onto Anna as her own thoughts. Susan Morgan seems to be another modern liberal who has tolerance for just about everyone except for Christian missionaries. They were depicted in a negative light as trying to force their views on others and..how dare they? Whereas in reality, tho perhaps some missionaries did that, there was a world of good to the poor and oppressed done by most, and certainly they were following their beliefs and trying to draw the world to their Savior according to his direction. Are they not allowed to follow their religion in that way? Apparently, according to Ms Morgan, no. Yes it involves evangelism, but that’s all part of practicing their religion. But regardless, wow! What a life Anna lead!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on December 24, 2011

Verified Purchase

Susan Morgan clearly loves Anna Leonowens.
Much of what Morgan brings to the table is new and insightful, especially historic details about Anna's early life. She has fleshed out what was discovered by W.S. Bristowe in researching his 1976 book, LOUIS AND THE KING OF SIAM, about the life of Anna's son Louis Leonowens. In a chapter called ANNA UNVEILED, Bristowe presents for the first time, the basic truth about Anna's birth place, birthdate and background, all in India. Morgan tells us "that there is almost no information about Anna Harriet Edwards early years" then proceeds to go about creating a mythic young Anna, running about barefoot in dusty bazaars, helping her mother with the laundry in the river and sleeping with other "half caste" children, "in piles like puppies".
She then introduces us to a teenage Anna, devouring her books, self educating herself in Hindi, Persian, and Sanscrit, and finally finding love and marriage with a dashing young clerk. When the marriage ends with the death of her husband, Anna creates a new identity, moves to Singapore with her two young children and opens up a financially unsuccessful kindergarten in her home.
The king of Siam requests an English teacher for his older children and after sending her daughter off to school in England, Anna moves to Bangkok with her son and stays for about five years.
Much of Ms. Morgan's account of this part of Anna's life is strange. Although Anna stated in her books that the contents were true, many learned historians have doubted the veracity of Anna's accounts in the palace, including Prince Damrong, one of Anna's own students. However, in her defence of Anna, Morgan discounts them all with a wave of her pen. She allows Anna's lies to become "tales". In a high handed manner, she says "There is no plausable justification for reading Anna's two books about Siam literally and then casitgating her for getting the facts wrong". Why not? Truth is the point of a biographical work. She goes on to say "It is obvious that her books are immaginative visions of Siam, and that many of the incidents she depicts are exaggerations". Ms. Morgan appears to have such a high regard for Anna Leonowens, that she arbitrarily filters facts to bolster her own "immaginative visions". Taking her quotations out of context, Ms. Morgan has bent other author's quotations to her own purpose. For example, Ruth Adams Knight, in her biography of Princess Rudivoravan quotes her as saying, "King Mongkut was an excessively modest man. The Chow Chorm Kien (one of King Mongkut's chief wives)said if he began to punish one of his household - and whippings were not too unusual in those days - the girl had only to tear open her bodice, and His Majesty would stride away in confusion". Ms. Morgan, once again, chooses to quote only "whippings were not too unusual in those days", ignoring the full quotation to support her own position.
It is regrettable that exaggeration, outright lies, and selective quotes seem to have become the hallmark of the Anna Leonowens story. Unfortunately, the central core of Ms. Morgan's book does absolutely nothing to clarify an already confusing narrative regarding Anna's time in Siam. Her self-serving position only perpetuates an erronious myth.

9 people found this helpful

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William Colburn

Bombay Anna

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 14, 2012

Verified Purchase

Bombay Anna has provided a wonderful glimpse into the history and culture of Asia though the life of Anna Leonowen. Morgan's book is not only a well-researched, but also insightfully written. While Americans were embroiled in a horrendous civil war, the king of Siam - with Anna's help - was busy holding back British and French colonial powers and managing to calm powerful Thai nobles through the unusual 'Nang Harm' population of women within the Inner City.

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

D. A. Welch

The biography of an extraordinary woman

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 21, 2018

Verified Purchase

It's a dry book of non fiction - basically a biography. I bought it because Anna is in my bloodline and I wanted to learn more about her, knowing "Anna and the King of Siam" was largely a work of fiction. It turns out Anna was nevertheless an extraordinary woman, well ahead of her time regarding the role of women in society.

8 people found this helpful

Helpful

Susan F. Kepner

packaging problem, book fine

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on February 26, 2010

Verified Purchase

The mailing envelope for the book was clearly used. I opened it in my car and got a shower of
gray insulating material that wouldn't have disintegrated when the envelope was new. The book was just fine. Hope this will be taken more as a "heads up" than anything else. New envelopes matter.

6 people found this helpful

Helpful

smb

This is a very interesting book!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 10, 2014

Verified Purchase

The amount of research that went into this book is pretty amazing. There are a lot of suppositions but also lots of research. We thought we knew Anna but this book tells all! I found it fascinating. sb

10 people found this helpful

Helpful

HMW

Bombay Anna

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 4, 2013

Verified Purchase

Who would have considered the origins of Bombay Anna - and the possible influence upon the Thai nation. An in depth and fascinating factual account.

11 people found this helpful

Helpful

jc

nice read

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 1, 2018

Verified Purchase

interesting book

9 people found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

Lydia

miss anna

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 12, 2012

Verified Purchase

my daughter was intrigued to find out more about her favourite character, and loved the original film, she's delighted with it.

2 people found this helpful

Mrs Karen Parkinson

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on December 12, 2014

Verified Purchase

Good. This was a gift. The receiver loved it!

One person found this helpful

Amazon Customer

Five Stars

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on December 27, 2016

Verified Purchase

Good book...Good service. Thanks.

See all reviews

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