Being obsessed with all things 'Anna', I had to have this book, just because its about 'Anna'. But I can't believe how cool it is beyond that. It is a behind the scenes guide, beautiful, glossy picture book, and well-researched, informative, awesome history lesson in one. It totally quenched my need for 'Anna'!! I reccomend this to fans, historians and movie buffs alike. Ceccelia Holland is brilliant; you can tell she really thought about this and did her homework. My copy is priceles to me. Please get this!

If you enjoyed "Anna and the King," I think you will love this book. It is filled with huge glossy photos, many of them close-ups of Jodie Foster and Chow Yun-Fat as well as the beautiful sets and landscapes. It contains tons of historical background information on the movie and makes for a very interesting read. I highly recommend it.

I really didn't expect too much out of this book. But I was quite pleasantly surprised to find myself thoroughly enjoying it. It gives background to so many of the customs and questions about Siam. It was very interesting to read because it made the story of Anna and the King more understandable and easier to relate to. It gives real story behind each character, but it also explains where this movie came from. If you enjoyed the movie, this is the book to get. It has a lot of awesome pictures, and it tells how the story developed from the true story to a wonderful tale. I think everyone understands that the movie isn't very true, so this book is perfect for learning the truth, and also learning more about the movie. If that's what you're looking for...here it is!

I would have expected such a book to be very dry, but much to my pleasant surprise it was interesting. Ms. Dow did a good job looking through Anna's sensationalized accounts of her life to find the real truth. I liked the enclosed photos of Anna and her family, and Prince Chulalongkorn. A very good biography this was.

As a young child I was enthralled with the popular musical, The King and I. The story had all the makings of a perfect fairy tale, with Anna captivating the heart of the King of Siam. Now, with a new film version of The King and I about to be released I wanted to find out more about the real woman behind the well known legend.

Through extensive research and detective work, author Leslie Smith Dow has successfully peeled back the layers of myth to reveal a very different, but equally extraordinary Anna. Through her research she debunks some of the details of Anna's early life revealing a very unromantic childhood of poverty and squalor. This book took me right into the heart of this extraordinary woman as she struggled to survive as a young widow with two small children. Her life as a Governess at the Saimese Court was fascinating, but equally impressive was the life she led after leaving Siam. I was very interested to read of her many accomplishments in Canada after moving to Halifax Nova Scotia with her daughter and son-in-law. She worked very hard to make her mark on both Halifax and Montreal leaving a lasting legacy of work that remains to this day.

Leslie Smith Dow has done a remarkable job of giving us a true portrait of Anna Leonowens and I highly recommend this book.

The introduction to this book is as interesting as the book itself. Anna Leonowens remains a controversial character. The truth of her stories is questionable, her own biographical information may have been selectively edited or changed to reflect a more genteel background than Anna really had. Was she, in fact, an Anglo-Indian? Much scandal surrounds her still.

This book is the source, along with her other book The English Governess at the Siamese Court, for Margaret Landon's better known work Anna and the King of Siam. This book has the story of Tuptim, the concubine who was executed for running away, disguised as a priest. It is written in a typically Victorian elaborate style, so can be heavy going for some people. However, if you are curious about Anna herself, this is a must-read.

Mrs. Leonowens is a fine writer. Though most of here stories have been debated whether they were true or not, it reads as a good book if not a historical novel. Ms. Morgan gives a lot of backround to the author and book and unviels an amazing truth about Anna Leonowens. I like the book because it was like a small door to the world of yesterday that is dead with only a faint memory behind. I also like storiesof history.The book is heavy like most Victorian novels I've read. It takes longer than most but worth the effort. In this copy we see a picture of Anna Leonowens herself. If you enjoyed this you ought to read Anna and the King of Siam.

I am 15, so to establish my credibility I must explain that I am currently writing an enormous research paper on the controversy over various written and film versions of Anna and the King of Siam. After roughly three months of extensive background research, I read this book and found it to be almost entirely untrue. I believe that those who claim King Mongkut would not have accomplished what he did without Mrs. Leonowens counsel are disillusioned and clearly have not read much on the subject. He was an extremely enlightened and well-educated monarch with no reason to engage in conversation with an English schoolteacher. Many people actually believe that she met the King only once, or not at all. Despite the glaring errors, however, I have seen both the musical and the newest version with Jodie Foster and enjoyed them immensely. Read this book and see the movies only if you are aware that they are fictional.

I was drawn to Anna and the King of Siam because of the Musical, The King and I. I not only enjoyed reading the book, but I also enjoyed comparing the two works based on the same woman's courage and dedication. Anna Leonowen's life and work in Siam is not only facinating, but an interesting aspect of history as well. The book shares and outlines this story in an interesting and exciting way. Anna had to have great courage and dedication to do what she did in her time. The difference in culture was alluring to her, as well as shocking at times. Throughout her time in Siam, she formed many friendships, and she had many who admired her. She gained a few enemies as well. Anna also had an intriging relationship with the King, which fluctuated on a regular basis. Anna was truly a remarkable woman, as was her story. I loved it!

The history of Anna and the King of Siam is as romantic as the story itself. Author Margaret Landon found what may have been the only copy of Anna' book, The English Governess at the Siamese court while she was a missionary in Thailand. Later, she located the Romance of the Harem in a second-hand bookstore in Chicago. She paid a $1 for the book, which turned out to be a fine investment. Landon combined the two books and added fictional elements to create a skillfully written novel.

The exotic setting and romantic story so impressed the wives of both Rogers and Hammerstein that they convinced their husbands to write a musical based on the book. And thus we get the musical The King and I, plus several movies, most recently one with Jodie Foster.

Landon wrote other novels (Never Dies the Dream) based on her missionary experience but never achieved the same greatness as in Anna and the King of Siam. This is a well structured novel, with a lot of drama. The death scene of the Fa-ying is incredibly touching. Anna is believable; sometimes annoyingly persistent, other times selfless and very very brave.

The actual writins of Anna Leonowens are also available. It's fun to read Landon's book and then the source material she used. You may agree with me that Landon's skill as a novelist took Anna's story and made it unforgettable.

This is one of a few books which are written by Anna Leonowens herself as a English teacher in Siam. For those of you who wants to know more about Anna herself and her dairy, should read this book. It describes the Siamese court from a historical point of view, bring you back to 19th century.

Probably one of the strangest things about my reading of The English Governess at the Siamese Court, was the location in which I found the book. I was rummaging through the books at the Asia Book Store on Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok, looking for mindless mysteries to pass the time between tailor fittings. I was astonished to find a copy in Bangkok, knowing the Thai feelings toward Anna Leonowens. All I can say about the book is, now I have a complete understanding of why they would feel that way about her. Mrs. Leonowens view is so ethnocentric as to be bordering blatant racism. She takes no time to understand the culture around her, and fills her writings with the basest stereotypes of Asian culture found so prevalently in Victorian Imperial culture. Even when she does give credit to the Thai people for the beauty of their culture, it is done with an air of surprise, that these "primitives" could develop something of beauty.

BUT, this should not stop anyone from reading the book (thus my rating of four stars). The book should be read if only to gauge the growth that has been achieved in the last one hundred and thirty years. The book is an interesting look back at the accepted viewpoint of the nineteenth century. Mrs. Leonowens is a perfect mirror of the superior attitude of the Anglo-Saxon in his drive to finally control 3/4 of the earth. All in all, this book is a very interesting trip into the past.

I am thai, and I feel that it is my obligation to make a comment about this book. In all fairness, I think it is a 'fun' book to read, providing that the reader is aware that it is mostly fictionalized. Anna wrote a much distorted story of her time as an English tutor in the royal court of Siam, mostly glorifying herself without concerns for any real accuracy. When I was younger I was fascinated because this book was/is banned in Thailand, and so I wanted to find out more and did an extensive research. I learned that Anna's account is mostly ego-centric, euro-centric, and sensationalized. She created many fictional details of her own life to make herself sounding glamorous (for example, she said she was a daughter of a high-ranking British army officer and a genteel lady,when in fact she was a ... child of a petty soldier and an indian prostitute. Her husband was a drunk, etc.) If anyone would bother to do more research, he/she would also find that King Mongkut (Rama iV) was a wise, gentle, highly educated monach with a supreme, long-ranged vision to lay the foundation to modernize Thailand and prevent the country from being colonized by European Imperialism. He was a priest and a scholar,who rather chose/preferred to live within religious confinement for many many years before he had to finally ascend to the throne as an old man after his brother passed away. FYI, With fine, white hair, he was a very thin and fragile-looking man---not at all what all the musicals and movies have portrayed him to be. Because of him Thailand is the only country in Asia that has never been colonized. And King Monkut would have done it with or without Anna being around! Mongkut's son, King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) indeed carried on his father's legacy. Wise, modern, and highly educated(a result of his father's effort), King Chulalongkorn abolished slavery, created the first public university/public elementary and secondary school system and railroad and telecommunication system, reorganized the government and army infrastructure, etc---that is why he became one of the most beloved king in the Thai history. But all of this could not have happened without King Mongkut's vision in the first place. Anna's portrayal of King Monkut as a temperamental, insensitive tyrant/barbarian/womanizer is therefore downright offensive and insulting to the thais, NOT because we can't stand any criticism of our royal family, but simply because we know that most of her account is not true! About the violence/punishments/the concubine 'harem' of the royal court, please remember that this was a very different time. Such practices were common in many cultures and countries and not just in Thailand.

I recently listened to an unabridged version of this book on CD. There was surprisingly little time spent on actual personal happenings between Anna, the king and the court. She really does get into the history, culture, art, customs etc. of Siam in the 1860s. Three quarters of the book is taken up with this very kind of detailed and endless information. Nadia May, with incrediable skill and a voice that is as prim and English as Anna's, adds to the diminsion of this narrative. Her amazing ability at pronounciation helps capture a real sense of time and place. If one is looking for the glamous story from broadway or the movies--be ready for a disappointment. For a person fascinated by the culture and history of this country as well as interested in the English view, then, get your walking shoes on and have a nice listen to Anna's story.

Anna Leonowens is a controversial figure even now. Her name may not even have really been Leonowen (but the more common Welsh Owens), her husband not dead from heatstroke in a tiger hunt, but from drink, and not a British army officer at all. Nevertheless, her account of her time in Siam as the royal governess is ever popular and fascinating reading.

Anna wrote several books, The Romance of the Harem being another. Both this and the Romance were novelized by Margaret Landon into the more familiar Anna and the King of Siam.

Part of the controversy stems from the fact that any criticism of Thai royalty is not tolerated in that country. The king is held in a religious esteem and is the heart and soul of the country. So Anna's casual remarks on the king's temper and habits are practically heresy to the Thai, hence, she and her writing are targets for criticism. And what's worse, her pupil Chulalongkorn or Rama V, is Thailand's MOST revered king--kind of a Thai saint. His portrait is found in nearly all Thai homes and businesses.

Having that as a background, it's still fun to read Anna's account of her time in Thailand. Though many people feel that Anna distorted or hid the truth about herself in many ways, the book gives a fascinating look into a magical land. Anna's writing is typically Victorian; the prose is a bit ornate and not as direct as the writing of Landon.

Enjoy this book, and the plays, movies, etc. But please, please, please, don't think for a minute that it is "almost true." Anna Leonowens was a liar who dropped out of school at the age of 14 to be the mistress of a British clergyman. She got the job in Siam by falsifying her credentials. The real story of His Majesty Rama IV, and his son, Rama V, is much more interesting than any of these thin romances.

I enjoyed the book. It wasn't the best book I've read, but not the worst either. I didn't like the way the characters just had names. Nothing about anyone was in depth. It was like oh there she is and that was all. I would ony recomend it to a younger audience.

Kids shouild have fun reading this and later on they can read the older version. Anna in later life di make up a false background buyt only because she could not succeed with the one sha had. She was poor but well educated as her writing shows. She was fluent in 13 languages, and is recorded by people to have been thanked by Chulalkongkorn for teaching him about the evils of slavery which he ended. Even her greatest detractor gives her credit. She was known in BAngkok as the White Angel as her grandchild did write. Her life after Siam is just as spectacular. The book may not tell the full truth (Anna needed to sell her books so exaggerated but she records she and the king as actually being good friends) but tellls an amazing tale.