Bombay Anna
Regular price
€38.99
19th century
A01=Susan Morgan
academic
anna leonowens
army brat
asia
asian history
Author_Susan Morgan
biographical
biography
british colonies
Category=DNBH
Category=DS
Category=NHF
colonial
colonialism
colonizers
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_isMigrated=2
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
governess
harem
india
journalism
journalist
king of siam
life story
military
military family
mixed race
musical theatre
musicals
pop culture
real life
research
revolution
royalty
scholarly
siam
strong women
teacher
the king and i
travel writer
true story
untold story
victorian
victorian literature
Product details
- ISBN 9780520261631
- Weight: 363g
- Dimensions: 152 x 229mm
- Publication Date: 07 Jul 2008
- Publisher: University of California Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Paperback
Secure
checkout
Fast Shipping
Easy returns
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.
Susan Morgan, Distinguished Professor of English at Miami University, is the author of Place Matters: Gendered Geography in Victorian Women's Travel Writings about Southeast Asia, among other books.
