Anna Leonowens

Anna Leonowens (November, 1831 - 1915) is chiefly famous for being the British governess portrayed in the musical The King and I. The play, based on adaptations of her factually slipshod memoirs, provides a fictionalised look at her life in the royal court of Siam (present-day Thailand).

Truth or fiction?

Leonowens presented her own account as factual and for most of the 20th century it was accepted by most in the west as such, despite being strongly disputed in Thailand. The regular appearance of the story in various dramatic productions, plus Anna Leonowens' own ability to obscure the truth during her own lifetime meant that the fictional and true accounts of Anna Leonowens' life became very confused. It was, in the end, a chance discovery by a scientist which brought inconsistencies in her accounts and the historical record to more general attention. In the 1970s, Dr. W.S Bristowe, a regular visitor to the Far East in search of spiders, was researching a biography of Leonowen's son, the successful businessman Louis T. Leonowens. After meticulous research Bristowe came to believe that significant parts of the famous tale were fictional. He published a book about it called Louis and the King of Siam in 1976. Bristowe's work is not universally accepted, and accounts of Leonowens' life still vary. The true story of Anna Leonowens' remarkable life may never wholly be clear.

Related Topics:
Thailand - 1970s - Dr. W.S Bristowe - Louis T. Leonowens

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