Anna and the King of Siam

This is based on the life of British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens, recently widowed with two children to support. She has spent time in other exotic British colonies, and when she is told that King Mongkut of Siam is looking for a governess and teacher, she accepts the position.

Thus begins an unlikely friendship between two diverse personalities. Anna is headstrong, independent and outspoken, not something the King is used too, and the two find themselves at odds quite frequently. Yet, her years as governess will change the course of Siam’s history. One of her pupils, young Prince Chulalongkorn, embraces her Western ideals and values. He is especially attracted to her teachings of Abraham Lincoln and democracy, and when he is crowned king, slavery is abolished and a reform sweeps through Siam.

Yet Anna’s life in Siam was by no means easy. She was a proper British woman who is governess in a harem of nearly 9,000 women. The harem wasn’t just a part of the palace, it was a city unto itself. There was little discipline when it came to learning, making her job that much harder. Anna and her servants were not warmly welcomed at first, and a lesser woman would have fled. Through her tenacity and unwillingness to quit, she made lifelong friends who loved and respected her. She fought against injustice by bringing cases to the King’s attention, hoping to change his mind. She did so enough that she earned the nickname White Angel.

While I am interested in seeing the movie, there are such deep subjects within the 416 page book that I don’t see how it could be condensed and made into a musical. Well, I guess if you can turn Les Misérables into a musical…

https://candysplanet.wordpress.com/

This was an excellent read!! Strongly recommend.

Anna Leonowens spent years in Siam as teacher to the many children of the king. As time went on, the king came to trust her and expanded her role to become one of his diplomatic secretaries as she, an English woman spoke both English and French. This story is part novel and part biography as it tells the story of Anna’s years in Siam, and her relationship with the mercurial king. It was a page turner even though the writer’s style is somewhat outdated.

I read this some time ago and enjoyed it so much!

This book is based on the diaries of the real Mrs Anna, who left England to become the teacher of the children of the King of Siam. It is a tumultuous time in history in the Far East, interaction with the British Empire and other cultures is bringing changes to these country who had civilization when Europe was still in the Dark Ages. The widowed Mrs Anna And her son also bring about unexpected cultural challenges, as she teaches the children & such of the King’s wives and concubines as wish to learn about Western life and principles very different from their own! She uses “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” as a teaching tool to help them understand freedom vs slavery! It creates an outraged King, a very stubborn and opinionated man, who while requesting Mrs Anna to teach his court about the West, did not like her teaching his court about morals or Western ways that reflected badly on the life and culture of his beloved Siam! There were already problems with internal revolt, threatening revolution and war with Burma, an eternal foe. There are nearly daily very witty interactions between Mrs Anna and the King, many meals spent discussing things Western vs Eastern ways, literally resulting in Mrs Anna having the King as a private student. The King was stubborn.
yes, but farsighted. His goal was not to be conquered or assimilated like India, by the British. It was his wish to keep Siam Independent as a kingdom, by clearly, understanding, Western ways, able to deal equally with the Heads of Foreign Governments 1:1 in speech and writing, entertainments, the arts of conversation, and politics. His handicap was being blind to how this knowledge would his courtesans and courtiers, challenging what they knew and changing some of their thinking. A star crossed love affair by one of his favorite concubines, resulted in tragedy when the couple choose to run away but are caught before successful. Both are dead as a result of the King’s command, causing a complete rift between Mrs Anna and the King and she quits her job as a result, to the sorrow of the entire court. There is wonderful detail in this book, beautiful observations on the Land of Siam, Her People, Her Culture And Ways, and a very stubborn but honorable man who is her King! His Honor was quantified by the culture and the ancient customs of his land, and the long training in how to be “King” as taught by his Father, the prior King. The difference between Mrs Anna & the King was caused by differences in cultural background. On his side any one touching or stealing his property or disobeying the King’s wishes or orders, was sentenced to death. Mrs Anna was steeped in English Law and Courts of Justice. By the Victorian Era the English Monarchy had limited powers and could not order instant death or statutory punishment. In Siam the King had Absolute Power and could order Death, Life, and Physical torment at his personal discretion. He was the Law. Mrs Anna could not reconcile this and opted to resign, feeling she could not serve in such a situation. I can recommend this book highly. Both movies, “The King and I” and the Jodie Foster remake “Anna and the King” captured this book really well, I recommend both, highly. Yul Brynner does an incredible job bringing the King to life in both, he was an incredible actor. But definitely read the book! It’s not boring, it’s very dynamic! It flows beautifully, there is so much detail, so much life in the characters, so much description of backgrounds, traditions, styles, so much more. It is a chance to step into the past of an Eastern country on the brink of modernizing into the twentieth century. It is factual history, but reads like historical fiction, seen through the eyes of a very independent thinking Western Woman who could appreciate what she saw, even while disagreeing with some parts of it.