White Rajah: A Biography of Sir James Brooke

New
Paperback
2003
$12.70

Sir James Brooke was an extraordinary 'eminent' Victorian, whose life was the stuff of legend.His curious career began in 1841 when he was caught up in a war in Brunei which had started because a party of local Dayaks had refused to furl their umbrellas in the presence of the Sultan. Brooke was an opportunist who, with the Sultan's backing, made war on the Dayaks tribespeople and eventually found himself ruling over Sarawak - a kingdom the size of England - as a result. How he achieved it is a romantic, sometimes horrifying story. Brooke is someone that George Macdonald Fraser would scarcely dare to invent. Errol Flynn wanted to play him in a movie, seventy years after his death and his dynasty is remembered throughout South-East Asia.

Synopsis

Sir James Brooke was an extraordinary 'eminent' Victorian, whose life was the stuff of legend.His curious career began in 1841 when he was caught up in a war in Brunei which had started because a party of local Dayaks had refused to furl their umbrellas in the presence of the Sultan. Brooke was an opportunist who, with the Sultan's backing, made war on the Dayaks tribespeople and eventually found himself ruling over Sarawak - a kingdom the size of England - as a result. How he achieved it is a romantic, sometimes horrifying story. Brooke is someone that George Macdonald Fraser would scarcely dare to invent. Errol Flynn wanted to play him in a movie, seventy years after his death and his dynasty is remembered throughout South-East Asia.

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More Information

Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Edition: New e.
Publisher: Abacus
Published: 02 Oct 2003
ISBN 10: 0349116733
ISBN 13: 9780349116730
Book Overview: * Review round-ups in the national press

Media Reviews

Fascinating reading * LITERARY REVIEW *
As a brief, even-handed and witty introduction to this extraordinary man [WHITE RAJAH] is hard to beat * BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE *
WHITE RAJAH is a unique biography of one of the most fascinating and influential men of the British Empire * GEOGRAPHICAL *

Author Bio

Nigel Barley is the author of six books, including THE INNOCENT ANTHROPOLOGIST and DANCING ON THE GRAVE. He is the curator of London's Museum of Mankind.