Susan Morgan published this biography of Anna Leonowens in 2008.
Anna Leonowens is a well known historical figure in Thailand. She was the governess of King Mongkut's children from 1862 to 1867. Books, musicals and movies have been based on her experiences, with great success in the United States in particular. Movies were based on the book by Margaret Landon : Anna and the King of Siam. Like Anna Leonowens' own publications, Margaret Landon's book, is considered as containing many untruths, and as being disrespectful. Movies and novels have been banned in Thailand. I am not aware which books and movies are still banned (or not) in the country.
In any case, Susan Morgan's well received and well researched biography is available and is recommended reading, for anyone interested in Thai and Asian history.
Susan Morgan traced the maternal greatfather of Anna Leonowens, to be Reverend Cradock Glascott, who was a methodist in the Church of England. He was a travelling preacher for quite a few years and then settled down as a vicar in a small town in the West of England. The maternal grandfather of Anna arrived in Bombay in 1810. His name was William Valdrey Glascott and he joined the Indian Army, the private army of the British East-India company. Apparently, life was harsh at the time in England, and even a lowly position in the Indian Army looked better.
Billy Glascott died in India at a very young age. One of his daughers, Mary-Ann, then only 13 years old, married a soldier named Thomas Edwars in 1929, Anna Leonowens was born on the 26th November 1831. The father of Anna Leonowens, Thomas Edwards, died also very young without ever seeing his second daughter.
Susan Morgan describes the abysmal life in the barracks of the Indian Army at the time.
Anna Leonowens Christian name was Anna Harriett Emma Edwards.
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Bombay Anna by Susan Morgan |
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Mary-Anne, the widowed mother of Anna, remarried soon thereafter with another soldier Patrick Donahue. The couple had many more children and Patrick Donahue (who stayed alive) worked himself up in the military, and later worked in the Public Works Department of the British Government in India. The couple (and Anna Leonowens) always remained in India.
Anna's mother and father eventually settled in Puna, which was recently conquered by the British. In Puna, Anna was able to get adequate education at the regimental school.
Anna Harriett Edwards married Thomas Leonowens, an immigrant clerk in Bombay in 1849. Apparently theirs was a true love story.
Tom and Anna Leonowens left Bombay at the end of 1852 and settled for a few years trying to earn a living in Western Australia. Little is known about their lifes until 1859. Their two first children died, but Anna gave birth to a daugher Avis in 1854 and a son, Louis in 1856. Tom Leonowens died in 1859 at a young age of 35, while in Penang.
Soon thereafter Anna Leonowens arrived by ship in Singapore, and started a new life with a new invented identity.
In Singapore, Anna run a school and further developed her new identity. She also became acquainted with American culture, which appealed to her as having more societal equality. Anna reinvented herself as an English lady, without mixed blood (which she in reality had through her grandparents), and without having been born and having lived during her youth in India.
At the end of 1861 King Mongkut of Siam sent a letter to his agent in Singapore, asking to find a British lady to be the governess for his children. There were few available single women for this position and Anna Leonowens got the opportunity. She sent her daughter Avis with some friends to England for further schooling, and arrived in Bangkok with her son Louis in March 1862. At the time, she was 30 years old.
Anna got lodgings outside the palace within walking distance. She arrived at at time when the colonial powers were expanding their empires all around Thailand. The British were in Burma and Malaysia, while the French were in Vietnam and later Laos. King Mongkut granted trading arrangements, and relinquished civil and criminal jurisdiction over British nationals. His main objective was to avoid Siam being colonised, and he succeeded.
The author states that there is no way of knowing much about the personal relationship between King Mongkut and Anna Leonowens. There is no evidence of any romantic interest between the two, nothwithstanding the Hollywood movies.
At the time of Anna's stay as a governess and teacher in Thailand, there was only a very small group of foreigners living in Bangkok. Her social circle therefore was rather small. The most prominent of the foreigners was Dr. Bradley, an American missionary, who stayed in Bangkok for many decades. He also established the first private hospital in Bangkok (Bangkok's Christian Hospital is still operational). The missionaries, by the way, were not successful at whole in finding converts. Anna Leonowens did not really approve about their mission work in the country, having lived in India, with its many religions, which she did not find inferior to Christianity.
Susan Morgan spends ample time describing the Nang Ham (Inner Palace) where the wifes and children of King Mongkut stayed. Anna Leonowens saw the women as being subjected to sexual slavery, with the women not being permitted to leave the palace grounds.
Anna Leonowens later wrote two books about her life in Bangkok.
In the first book 'The English Governess at the Siamese Court' gives a rather harsh assessment of King Mongkut. The second book 'Romance of the Harem' describes events occurring in the harem. The stories are just a bit fantastic and exagerated.
There is still quite some correspondence left by Anna Leonowens. It shows a picture of her love for her daughter in England, and gives an insight in her relations with the wifes and concubines of King Mongkut in the palace.
From correspondence it is also clear that Anna was privy to the occasional matter of state, and that King Mongkur consulted her regarding some important issues. Apparently, she was quite able to speak her mind.
Anna Leonowens left Siam in the middle of 1867, with her young son Louis. She was sickly and worn out at the time. She left for England initially on a 6 month leave of absence. She picked up her daughter Avis and arranged the further studies for her son Louis. She eventually decided to visit some friends in the U.S.A. and never went back to Siam.
Anna had not destroyed all her bridges, rather postponed any decision, but she was surely prevented from going back when King Mongkut died in the fall of 1868.
Anna Leonowens wrote her two books while in the U.S.A. She lectured around the United States about her experiences in Asia. In 1874 her son, who was not a very good student, left the United States. He would not be seen back by Anna for 19 years.
Louis Leonowens eventually ended up in Thailand, the beloved country where he spent his young years.
In 1905, Louis T. Leonowens established the Louis Thomas Leonowens Company in Thailand. The company still exists today.
Anna would move to Halifax in 1978 in Canada and would stay there most of the rest of her life. She took care of the children of her daugher Avis, and later on also of the two children of her son Louis. She was ever active, giving lectures, being a social activist for equal rights and education. She also stayed for extended periods in Germany (taking some of the kids to school there), and travelled by train through Russia.
At one occasion in London, Anna Leonowens met King Chulalongkorn (the son of King Mongkut) who had been the most important of her pupils while in Bangkok.
Anna Leonowens died in 1915, a few years after suffering a debilitating stroke.
The life of Anna Leonowens was truly remarkable. She seemed to have lived multiple lifes, reinventing herself in different locations. Throughout the book, it is evident she was extremely sociable, and made lifelong good friends in England, Ireland and the U.S.A.
Education was a most important asset in her opinion. While she had less than optimal opportunities, she learned and teached others throughout her life. She spoke many languages, and even mastered Sanskrit.
Most importantly, she invented a new identity for herself after the death of her beloved husband Tom Leonowens. Before arriving in Bangkok to be the governess of King Mongkut's children, she changed here identity, and never looked back. She broke all ties with her family, and never seemed to have contacted them again. Likely something happened between the young married couple (Tom and Anna Leonowens) and other family members, but what exactly caused a rift is not known.
Later in life, she never seemed to have revealed the truth of her origins.
Glossary : Anna Leonowens herself published two works related to her experiences in Siam :
The English Governess at the Siamese Court (1870)
Romance of the Harem (1873)
Margaret Landon (1944) wrote Anna and the King of Siam , the base for subsequent musicals and movies. Musicals and Movies :
The King and I, a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscare Hammerstein was based on the book by Margaret Landon. (1951) It starred Yul Brynner in the role of the main character, King Mongkut.
There have been numerous broadway revivals since 1951. Yul Brunner played his role more than 4000 times!!!
The King and I movie (1956) starred Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. Yul Brynner won an oscar for best actor for his role as King Mongkut.
Anna and the King of Siam (1999), another more recent movie version of the story, starred Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat.
There are been quite a few other movie and television adaptations.
Websites of English-language writers in Bangkok, and online bookstores.
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