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Bombay Anna: The Real Story and Remarkable Adventures of the "King and I" Governess
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.
300 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 21, 2022
To most people, the image of Anna Leonowens - if they even know who that is - is that of Deborah Kerr playing opposite Yul Brunner in the musical film The King and I. But - as usual - Hollywood took some liberties mostly due to the fictionalized memoir by Margaret Landon. But Anna Leonowens was a far more fascinating woman who lived in the proverbial 'interesting times'.
Morgan attempted to actually research and discover the actual Anna Edwards Leonowens, a woman born in British India to an English infantryman and a 'mixed' mother (likely native and Portuguese). At this time, girls were married young - Anna's mother wed at 13 - due to the extremely limited options for these mixed nationality girls as well for the British common soldiers who could only raise so far in rank and unable to recommend themselves to the few British ladies that travelled to India.
Anna managed to find a young soldier and fell deeply in love. They had several children and Anna followed her husband to Australia, Singapore and Malaysia before he died quite suddenly. Those same options that limited her situation back in India still prevailed so Anna re-invented herself into a Welsh-born lady who followed her officer husband to India. She managed to gain a position as governess to the children of the King of Siam because she was not a missionary pushing the Christian dogma. Her daughter was sent to boarding school in England while her son accompanied her to Siam.
Based on Anna's own books regarding her time and travels, she provided commentary and insights on the Thai attitude regarding polygamy, slavery, the comparison of harem life on women as a form of slavery and comparisons to Africans in the U.S. This was the time of the American civil war so slavery was a topic of discussion. At the time, Leonowen's books were not considered "lies" but highly fictionalized accounts and rather melodramatic at that. But in turn, she continued to be an educator after leaving Siam - opening a school in America, giving lectures and writing articles about Siam, the suffragette movement, taught classes at colleges and helped found various groups while continuing to travel to England, Russia, Germany and Canada.
She was an interesting individual and although Morgan was a bit dry and repetitious, overall, it provided a more realistic picture of life in the court of Siam along with the pressure various targeted countries endured from colonial and religious interests as well as live in the British Raj for those children who had the misfortune to be born of mixed nationality.
And interesting 'small world' note - Anna's nephew moved to California and eventually gained some notoriety as an actor. His name? Boris Karloff.
2022-080
Morgan attempted to actually research and discover the actual Anna Edwards Leonowens, a woman born in British India to an English infantryman and a 'mixed' mother (likely native and Portuguese). At this time, girls were married young - Anna's mother wed at 13 - due to the extremely limited options for these mixed nationality girls as well for the British common soldiers who could only raise so far in rank and unable to recommend themselves to the few British ladies that travelled to India.
Anna managed to find a young soldier and fell deeply in love. They had several children and Anna followed her husband to Australia, Singapore and Malaysia before he died quite suddenly. Those same options that limited her situation back in India still prevailed so Anna re-invented herself into a Welsh-born lady who followed her officer husband to India. She managed to gain a position as governess to the children of the King of Siam because she was not a missionary pushing the Christian dogma. Her daughter was sent to boarding school in England while her son accompanied her to Siam.
Based on Anna's own books regarding her time and travels, she provided commentary and insights on the Thai attitude regarding polygamy, slavery, the comparison of harem life on women as a form of slavery and comparisons to Africans in the U.S. This was the time of the American civil war so slavery was a topic of discussion. At the time, Leonowen's books were not considered "lies" but highly fictionalized accounts and rather melodramatic at that. But in turn, she continued to be an educator after leaving Siam - opening a school in America, giving lectures and writing articles about Siam, the suffragette movement, taught classes at colleges and helped found various groups while continuing to travel to England, Russia, Germany and Canada.
She was an interesting individual and although Morgan was a bit dry and repetitious, overall, it provided a more realistic picture of life in the court of Siam along with the pressure various targeted countries endured from colonial and religious interests as well as live in the British Raj for those children who had the misfortune to be born of mixed nationality.
And interesting 'small world' note - Anna's nephew moved to California and eventually gained some notoriety as an actor. His name? Boris Karloff.
2022-080
November 16, 2008
This was a very interesting topic and contained much information that put The King and I in historical perspective. Unfortunately, I thought it was incredibly repetitive. Sometimes the same thing was said more than once on the same page. I am probably in the minority with this view. I just think a good editor should have tightened it up and made it flow. It isn't a narrative, but the organization should have been more apparent and useful.
November 18, 2014
The author had an interesting story to tell, but she didn't tell it as well as she could have. The biography is bogged down with irrelevant details about too many other people, and there are places where chronological order is not kept. The beginning frankly drags, and it was not until the material about life in Siam that I got interested. Since this was a selection of a book club I belong to, I wanted to finish, and I'm glad I did, for the book is much more interesting toward the end.
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November 5, 2015Though we discover through Morgan's biography of Anna Leonowens that most of the woman's life as we know it from "The King and I" or from "Anna and the King" or even from Leonowens' own books about her time teaching the King's children in Siam is actually a lie, we can tell that Morgan still admires her.
"Siam was the high point of Anna's life, not because it was the most important thing she ever did--to her it was not--but because it was the turning point in a process that made her at last into the woman she had all along had the potential to become." (p166)
The book has a dry academic taste to it, but the story of Anna Leonowens is fascinating.
"Siam was the high point of Anna's life, not because it was the most important thing she ever did--to her it was not--but because it was the turning point in a process that made her at last into the woman she had all along had the potential to become." (p166)
The book has a dry academic taste to it, but the story of Anna Leonowens is fascinating.
June 24, 2008
About Anna Leonowens of Siam and the King. Fascinating account of how she changed her image to become what she wished and what would benefit herself and her family. And how our preception of Siam/Thailand was shaped by her life and her biography. I was sometimes put off by the author's style. She tends to repeat herself which always strikes me as a bit patronizing. But aside from that, I couldn't put it down.
March 19, 2012
This book is very interesting and a historically accurate and powerful account of the times and the people. A real eye opener, and I would reocmmend whole heartedly, even if you are not fascinated by the Anna and the King of Siam story.
That said, it is rather dense and pedantic, not necessarily a FUN read. But has so much worthwhile info for history buffs, check it out.
That said, it is rather dense and pedantic, not necessarily a FUN read. But has so much worthwhile info for history buffs, check it out.
March 19, 2020
The author continually iterates that little is known of Anna’s true life ... so she trudges on with details about people peripheral to Anna.
May 24, 2018
I can understand why some readers have struggled through the book. It is very repetitive and there is a lot of time spent on other people besides Anna. And for me, the end really seemed to drag.
However, reading this as an historical biography, focused on what can be known about Anna and her time and places in history, I still found it really interesting to read. The author did an incredible and thorough job with her research. Superbly researched! It's really impressive how she could piece her life together from the records she found. Great detective work to investigate the "lies" in Anna's story and uncover the reality. Although the author shows us that Anna's tales of her life were often inaccurate, she does it in a way where, at least for me, I understood why Anna would have created her own "history."
However, reading this as an historical biography, focused on what can be known about Anna and her time and places in history, I still found it really interesting to read. The author did an incredible and thorough job with her research. Superbly researched! It's really impressive how she could piece her life together from the records she found. Great detective work to investigate the "lies" in Anna's story and uncover the reality. Although the author shows us that Anna's tales of her life were often inaccurate, she does it in a way where, at least for me, I understood why Anna would have created her own "history."
August 11, 2019
Much was intereesting and education, which I appreciated. Much, however, was rather dry. What I really missed was more about the Thai reaction to Anna and her books and the later theatrical sensation her books became.
February 29, 2020
This was a fascinating read about a woman whose own memoir was made up, leading to an iconic fictional character. It was very interesting to read about British India for me especially as that is also part of my heritage.
January 26, 2023
Really interesting and nuanced discussion of woman whose life defies the simple narrative offered in the media about her.
January 11, 2009
Almost everyone in America has heard of Anna, the famous upper class English lady who held her own with the King of Siam. What most people haven’t heard is the real story behind the better-known, fictionalized character. Susan Morgan has devoted over a decade to fleshing out the life of Anna Leonowens in Bombay Anna. This was not an easy job given the lengths Anna went to alter her past, even writing a false biography for her grandchildren.
Contrary to Anna’s claims of an upper class English upbringing, she was actually a mixed-race child born in India to a mixed-race mother and a low-ranking English soldier. She grew up in tented barracks and among the local children. Her intellect and facility with language set her apart. When her husband, the love of her life, died, Anna faced limited prospects as a widow. For the sake of her children, she moved to Singapore, where no one knew her, and cleverly recreated her past.
Morgan shows the readers how successful Anna was at reinvention. Not only did her story hold, but her children moved freely among the upper classes, and her grandchildren attended prestigious universities. Morgan’s painstaking research is clear, and her devotion to this topic comes through in the book. She describes the stages of Anna’s life with precise detail, sometimes more than a general reader may need, but Bombay Anna serves the dual purpose of bringing the real Anna to life for pleasure readers and providing a treasure trove of facts for historians and scholars. Morgan even provides a brief biography of Margaret Landon, whose book (Anna and the King of Siam) catapulted Anna Leonowens to fame.
Often times, such fact-laden books can be cumbersome to read - not this one. Morgan writes skillfully, and Bombay Anna often reads like a novel. By the end, the reader holds an intimate knowledge of Anna and may even regret not having been able to meet her.
Anna was a woman ahead of her time. She refused to live her life subject to racial discrimination and social constraints, and adapted in order to overcome a system designed to hold her back. Anna rejected proselytizing in favor of respect for world religions, she had a strong social conscience, and she valued education more than anything else. She could make herself comfortable among a wide variety of people – from Russian peasants to residents of the king’s harem and Siamese nobility to American literary intellectuals.
See the movie with Jodie Foster. Enjoy the musical. But if you want to know the real story, pick up Bombay Anna and be prepared to find an inspiring story of an incredible woman.
Review by Jessica Jacobson
Contrary to Anna’s claims of an upper class English upbringing, she was actually a mixed-race child born in India to a mixed-race mother and a low-ranking English soldier. She grew up in tented barracks and among the local children. Her intellect and facility with language set her apart. When her husband, the love of her life, died, Anna faced limited prospects as a widow. For the sake of her children, she moved to Singapore, where no one knew her, and cleverly recreated her past.
Morgan shows the readers how successful Anna was at reinvention. Not only did her story hold, but her children moved freely among the upper classes, and her grandchildren attended prestigious universities. Morgan’s painstaking research is clear, and her devotion to this topic comes through in the book. She describes the stages of Anna’s life with precise detail, sometimes more than a general reader may need, but Bombay Anna serves the dual purpose of bringing the real Anna to life for pleasure readers and providing a treasure trove of facts for historians and scholars. Morgan even provides a brief biography of Margaret Landon, whose book (Anna and the King of Siam) catapulted Anna Leonowens to fame.
Often times, such fact-laden books can be cumbersome to read - not this one. Morgan writes skillfully, and Bombay Anna often reads like a novel. By the end, the reader holds an intimate knowledge of Anna and may even regret not having been able to meet her.
Anna was a woman ahead of her time. She refused to live her life subject to racial discrimination and social constraints, and adapted in order to overcome a system designed to hold her back. Anna rejected proselytizing in favor of respect for world religions, she had a strong social conscience, and she valued education more than anything else. She could make herself comfortable among a wide variety of people – from Russian peasants to residents of the king’s harem and Siamese nobility to American literary intellectuals.
See the movie with Jodie Foster. Enjoy the musical. But if you want to know the real story, pick up Bombay Anna and be prepared to find an inspiring story of an incredible woman.
Review by Jessica Jacobson
January 12, 2011
Excellent, excellent, excellent!
I didn't know much about Anna Leonowens, except the movie and musical of Anna and The King or The King and I, the later being written by someone else. The former being based off of Anna's memoirs during her time in the Siam court, a book which I have read some time ago now and at the time thinking it was totally non fiction. Wow, was I wrong.
Anna was born and grew up in India and was a quarter Indian on her mothers side, unlike the portrait she painted about her self of how she was an English lady born in England who later on went to India along with the many other stories she told people. At first I didn't understand why she would do this, but now that I think of it, Victorian society is unforgiving and Anna lying about her past and up bringing would seem a better image for her self and children.
Most of the book is about her time in the Siamese court, which is of course, the time the reader would like to know about the most. I'm Thai myself and of course, took Thai history in school, but I learned so much more about King Mongkut's court in this little book more than any other Thai source I ever read in school. Fascinating to me. It also of course shows the king being human who is treated with a God like status. (like the modern monarchy of Thailand today)
Anna was a woman truly ahead of her time, while Victorian woman stayed home, she ventured the world and got stuff done! a real inspiration to me and (hopefully) other woman out there.
I found it interesting that the author used "I" refering to herself in parts of the book. A big "no no" as my history lecturer says. But I liked it, it gave it more of a story feeling to it, even though it was non fiction.
If you want to know about the real governess of The King and I, this is the book to go to.
I didn't know much about Anna Leonowens, except the movie and musical of Anna and The King or The King and I, the later being written by someone else. The former being based off of Anna's memoirs during her time in the Siam court, a book which I have read some time ago now and at the time thinking it was totally non fiction. Wow, was I wrong.
Anna was born and grew up in India and was a quarter Indian on her mothers side, unlike the portrait she painted about her self of how she was an English lady born in England who later on went to India along with the many other stories she told people. At first I didn't understand why she would do this, but now that I think of it, Victorian society is unforgiving and Anna lying about her past and up bringing would seem a better image for her self and children.
Most of the book is about her time in the Siamese court, which is of course, the time the reader would like to know about the most. I'm Thai myself and of course, took Thai history in school, but I learned so much more about King Mongkut's court in this little book more than any other Thai source I ever read in school. Fascinating to me. It also of course shows the king being human who is treated with a God like status. (like the modern monarchy of Thailand today)
Anna was a woman truly ahead of her time, while Victorian woman stayed home, she ventured the world and got stuff done! a real inspiration to me and (hopefully) other woman out there.
I found it interesting that the author used "I" refering to herself in parts of the book. A big "no no" as my history lecturer says. But I liked it, it gave it more of a story feeling to it, even though it was non fiction.
If you want to know about the real governess of The King and I, this is the book to go to.
March 7, 2009
Really appreciate the author's consuming work to dig deeper into this seemingly unimportant story that has entertained and informed several generations now. Saw the original "The King and I" as a child, then loved the book as a young reader. Read it several times. Then saw the Jody Foster version of the movie. Always interested in filling in the gaps, I read a review of this book and immediately put it on my list to read. A fascinating expose' on Anna Leonowens, a mixed race Victorian woman, raised in India, not England. Her past was not at all what she presented in her writings, but the real story here is the way one resourcesful and imaginative woman re-invented herself time and time again! She's a survivor, to be sure. Just as interesting is the sub-story of how Margaret Landon, author of "Anna and the King of Siam" created a romanticized and revisionist story that lives on . . . with a strong U.S. and Christian spin. (i.e. The real Anna appreciated the Buddhist religion in Thailand and was not the proselytizing Christian popularly portrayed. Bottom line? She wasn't who she said she was, but throughout her life, she pulled off some incredible accomplishments and in her later life, spoke out very publically about slavery and injustice of many kinds.
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November 27, 2016I really want to read this book, but I'm just not in the mood for non-fiction right now. I keep skipping over it when picking it up, so shall put it away for a bit until the spirit grabs me to check in on Anna again.
I've been fascinated by what I've read so far, particularly that Anna totally reinvented herself and her history. Her actual history, which the author/researcher tracked down, placed her born and raised in an area of India where I've spent much time: Ahmednagar, in Maharastra. My brother and sister-in-law lived just outside there for nearly 40 years (she's still there). At one point in my life, I thought I'd go back there and work permanently at a rural health clinic where I'd done some volunteer work, but then I met javaczuk and the rest is history.
I will pick this up again. This note was written December 19, 2011. The book is about 1/3 finished.
I've been fascinated by what I've read so far, particularly that Anna totally reinvented herself and her history. Her actual history, which the author/researcher tracked down, placed her born and raised in an area of India where I've spent much time: Ahmednagar, in Maharastra. My brother and sister-in-law lived just outside there for nearly 40 years (she's still there). At one point in my life, I thought I'd go back there and work permanently at a rural health clinic where I'd done some volunteer work, but then I met javaczuk and the rest is history.
I will pick this up again. This note was written December 19, 2011. The book is about 1/3 finished.
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February 28, 2011I totally enjoyed this book. I enjoyed this "biography"/story about one who lied about her parentage and picked a point in time, created a history, and lived it out for almost 70 years afterwards. I do not condone untruthfulness; but, this lady concocted a story, financially supported herself and in so doing created a life for her children that would educate them beyond the possibilities of that time for folks of their perceived status.
I learned about the East India Company and can not be proud of it or British heritage in India. Thank God my British ancestors who made their ways to Canada.
I was fascinated by what I learned about Thailand and its court (in late eighteenth / early nineteenth centuries) and the needs of women during that time that carry forward into today.
I learned about the East India Company and can not be proud of it or British heritage in India. Thank God my British ancestors who made their ways to Canada.
I was fascinated by what I learned about Thailand and its court (in late eighteenth / early nineteenth centuries) and the needs of women during that time that carry forward into today.
October 2, 2023
This is a fascinating biography of Anna Leonowens who pretended to be British, covered up her past, even from her children, and became the nanny to the King of Siam’s children. She travelled the world, then settle in Canada to raise her family during the Victorian era when women stayed at home.
The movie — The King and I, was loosely based on Anna’s time as a nanny in the Siamese court. But her life was far more adventurous than just those days in Thailand.
I’m not a big non-fiction reader, but I had to admire the strength of this woman and Morgan’s well written research on this colourful character.
For more of my 5 out of 5 reviews visit https://readandwrite.blog/malleestanley
The movie — The King and I, was loosely based on Anna’s time as a nanny in the Siamese court. But her life was far more adventurous than just those days in Thailand.
I’m not a big non-fiction reader, but I had to admire the strength of this woman and Morgan’s well written research on this colourful character.
For more of my 5 out of 5 reviews visit https://readandwrite.blog/malleestanley
June 24, 2016
I give this book 4 stars because the research was thorough and because this biography stands a chance to become the classic -scholarly- biography of Anna Leonownes. I found the appendices to be enlargements of ideas discussed in the book. I think she might do well to do some pruning of her writing.
If you are in love with the movie -The King and I- and want to know more, you can learn more by reading this book. You will be in for some surprises if all you know about Anna is gleaned fromm the movies.
If you are in love with the movie -The King and I- and want to know more, you can learn more by reading this book. You will be in for some surprises if all you know about Anna is gleaned fromm the movies.
August 27, 2010
A fascinating look at the heroine of The King and I, Anna Leonowens. Turns out that her real life is much more amazing and interesting than just being a governess in a king's harem. Great read and recommended.
For the complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_B...
For the complete review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Book_B...
June 8, 2009
I just couldn't finish this book. The parts I read were interesting, but it was very slow, and I just wasn't in the mood to finish it before it was due back to the library. Most interesting thing I learned in the first third of the book was that Anna, as in The King and I Anna, was the aunt of Boris Karloff.
April 16, 2009
Scholarly but compelling story of the real Anna from the King and I. Maybe a little too much historical setting in the beginning. An amazing woman who invents a background for herself and then, through her own intelligence and ambition becomes a strong voice for the unenfranchised.
June 14, 2009
A very well-researched story of the real Anna who was governess to the King of Siam in the last half of the 19th century. Her real story, which she tried very hard to hide, is more interesting than the story she sold to the world.
July 18, 2013
Real life ten times as fascinating as what we get in 'Anna and the King of Siam' or 'The King and I'. I mean, besides being brilliant and secretive, this woman was Boris Karloff's grandmother's sister!
February 15, 2016
I've always loved the story of Anna and the King and this book gave me a realistic view of the woman behind the movie and show. Enjoyable and easy to read-actually couldn't put it down.
Want to read
February 22, 2010The true story of Anna and the King of Siam
February 25, 2012
I just couldn't finish it.
Want to read
March 24, 2018Dewey 921
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews