Anna and the King of Siam
by
Margaret Landon
BLURB: Anna Leonowens, a proper Englishwoman, was an unlikley candidate to change the course of Siamese (Thai) history. A young widow and mother, her services were engaged in the 1860's by King Mongkut of Siam to help him communicate with foreign governments and be the tutor to his children and favored concubines. Stepping off the steamer from London, Anna found herself in an exotic land she could have only dreamed of lush landscape of mystic faiths and curious people, and king's palace bustling with royal pageantry, ancient custom, and harems. One of her pupils, the young prince Chulalongkorn, was particularly influenced by Leonowens and her Western ideals. He learned about Abraham Lincoln and the tenets of democracy from her, and years later he would become Siam's most progressive king. He guided the country's transformation from a feudal state to a modern society, abolshing slavery and making many other radical reforms.
My rating: 3.5 estrellas
La historia de Anna Leonowens es una historia de ficcion, basada en personajes reales esta claro, de una viuda 'inglesa' (¿o deberia decir de origen galesa?) que llega con su pequeño hijo desde Bombay para enseñar inglés a los pequeños príncipes y princesas en el reino de Siam; y tambien servir de seudo correctora de cartas del rey Mongkut en 1862. De sus aventuras cotidianas en ese mundo exótico detrás de las murallas, que esta repleto de mujeres en el harem del rey, princesas , damas, esclavas , siervas, amazonas y juezas, resulta de lo más interesante .
