Leonowens, Anna Harriette

Leonowens, Anna Harriette

▪ British writer
née  Anna Harriette Edwards 
born Nov. 6, 1831, Ahmadnagar, India
died Jan. 19, 1915, Montreal, Que., Can.

      British writer and governess employed by King Mongkut (Rama IV) of Siam for the instruction of his children, including his son and successor, Prince Chulalongkorn.

      Edwards spent her childhood in India. She married Thomas Leon Owens, a clerk, in 1849; the two surnames were later merged to form “Leonowens.” Following the marriage, the couple spent several years in Australia. While living in Malaysia in 1859, Leonowens was widowed when her husband, who had been managing a hotel, succumbed to a stroke. She then settled in Singapore, where she supported her family by operating a school until 1862, when she was invited by King Mongkut to serve as governess to the royal children. For five years Leonowens was part of the royal household in Bangkok, and she both tutored Mongkut's children and advised him on relations with the West.

      After leaving Siam, Leonowens wrote two books, The English Governess at the Siamese Court (1870) and The Romance of the Harem (1872). According to Mongkut's biographer Abbot Low Moffat (Mongkut, the King of Siam), Leonowens's accounts of Siamese court life were greatly exaggerated, and her description of King Mongkut as a cruel tyrant was unfair. Later scholarship determined that Leonowens had falsified details of her early life, which included the claim that she was born in Wales in 1834 to an army captain and his wife. It was speculated that she had done so to conceal her mixed English and Indian heritage. Her lower-class background was suggested as another possible motivation for obscuring her origins.

      Leonowens's adventures in Siam inspired a popular book by Margaret Landon, Anna and the King of Siam (1944), on which was based the musical The King and I by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, a number of motion pictures, and a television serial.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Anna Leonowens — (née le 5 novembre 1834 à Ahmadnagar en Inde décédée le 19 janvier 1915 à Montréal au Canada) est surtout connue pour ses récits touchant des cinq années qu’elle passa comme professeur d anglais à la Cour du Siam, aujourd hui… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Anna Leonowens — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Anna Harriette Leonowens Nacimiento …   Wikipedia Español

  • Anna Leonowens — Infobox Person name = Anna Leonowens birth date = birth date|1831|11|6 birth place = death date = death date and age|1915|1|19|1831|11|5 death place = Anna Leonowens (6 November, 1831 19 January, 1915) was a British travel writer, educator and… …   Wikipedia

  • Anna Leonowens — Robert Harris (1849–1919): Portrait of Anna H. Leonowens (Ausschnitt) Öl auf Leinwand, 76,2 × 60 cm. Confederation Centre Art Gallery, Charlotetown Anna Harriette Edwards Leonowens (* 5. November 1831 in Indien, nach anderen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thailand — /tuy land , leuhnd/, n. 1. Formerly, Siam. a kingdom in SE Asia: official name of Siam 1939 45 and since 1949. 59,450,818; 198,242 sq. mi. (513,445 sq. km). Cap.: Bangkok. 2. Gulf of. Also called Gulf of Siam. an arm of the South China Sea, S of… …   Universalium

  • Mongkut — or Phrachomklao or Rama IV born Oct. 18, 1804, Bangkok, Siam died Oct. 15, 1868, Bangkok King of Siam (Thailand; r. 1851–68). The 43rd child of King Rama II, he was a Buddhist monk and scholar before he ascended the throne. His reformed Buddhism… …   Universalium

  • Seow Poh Leng — (1883 1942), the second son of Seow Chye Watt, was a prominent and successful Singaporean banker, founding member of the Ho Hong Bank, member of the committee of the Straits Settlement (Settlement of Singapore) [British Malaya By Association of… …   Wikipedia

  • Higher education in Nova Scotia — (also referred to as post secondary education) refers to education provided by higher education institutions in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. In Canada, education is the responsibility of the provinces and there is no Canadian federal… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”