Books with author Anna H. Leonowens Leonowens

Anna Leonownes' memoir of her six year as a governess in the Royal Palace of Bangkok was the inspiration for the beloved Broadway musical The king and I, as well as two award-winning films. First published in 1870, Leonowens' memoir is the true story of a proper English governess who is hired by the King of Siam to tutor his many children. A delightful portrait of an unlikely friendship between two headstrong personalities, it is also a revealing peak at two very different cultures.

About seven o'clock on the following morning I was in the Sala or San Shuang, which is within the second enclosure of the palace, but outside of the third or inner wall, which is that of the harem. This building is of one story only, and totally unlike that occupied for similar purposes in the interior of the grand palace. The main entrance was through a long, low corridor, on both sides of which opened apartments of different dimensions, so dilapidated as to be scarcely habitable, looking out upon the barracks, the magazine, and the fantastic grounds of the palace gardens. On entering the hall one was at once struck by the incongruities that met the eye; the windows were large and lofty, and might have served for the casements of a royal residence, while the doors were very narrow and mean, and the floor merely a collection of worm-eaten boards roughly nailed down. One interesting and picturesque peculiarity was the monstrous size of the spiders, who must have had undisturbed possession of the walls and ceiling for at least a century. Altogether, it was very dark, dull, and dreary, even depressing and sepulchral, when not illumined by the direct rays of the sun.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

The Romance of the Harem is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1873. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres.As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature.Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

A classic memoir of Leonowens' time spent at the Siamese Court. The English Governess at the Siamese Court (1870) earned her immediate fame but also brought charges of sensationalism. In her writing, she casts a critical eye over court life; the account is not always a flattering one, and has become the subject of controversy in Thailand; she has also been accused of exaggerating her influence with the king.

General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1873 Original Publisher: J.R. Osgood and company Subjects: Thailand Historical fiction Fiction Fiction / Classics Fiction / Historical Fiction / Literary Fiction / Romance / Historical History / General History / Asia / General History / United States / Civil War Period (1850-1877) History / Asia / Southeast Asia Literary Criticism / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh Travel / Asia / Southeast Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: I had drawn quite near to Tuptim when she began her simple narrative, and was so much absorbed in attention to what she said, and in admiration of the fearlessness as well as of the beauty and majesty of that little figure, that I had remained rooted to the spot, standing there mechanically, anil hardly noting what was going on around me. But the ellect of that reply was startling; it brought me suddenly to my senses and to a full appreciation of the scene before me. There was a child of barely sixteen years hurling defiance, at her own risk and peril, at the judges who appeared as giants beside her. To make such a reply to those executors of Siam's cruel laws was not only to accept death, but all the agonies of merciless torture. As her refusal fell like a thunderbolt upon my startled ears, she seemed a very Titan among the giants. " Strip her, and give her thirty blows," shouted the infuriated Fhayaprome I'aree Ilak, in a voice hoarse with passion; and Khoon Thow App looked calmly on. Presently the crowd opened, and a litter borne by two men was brought into the hall On it lay the mutilated form of the priest Bulat, who had just undergone the torture, in order to make him confess his guilt and...