Within these pages the private papers of a doctor, a newly wed bride, a reverend, a schoolgirl, and a judge are revealed.

They recreate the life and times of Dr John Bishop King, an East India Company surgeon. His posting to Penang gave him privileged access to its households, and his witty and at times caustic observations of his patients, their families, his friends and enemies provide a unique insight into Penang society in the mid-nineteenth century.

Interwoven with King's writings are the private journals of his wife Joanna; his friend the Reverend James Aberigh Mackay; the Recorder for Penang, Sir Benson Maxwell; and the reminiscences of Annie Earl, then aged 15. Together these five writers provide a multifaceted expos of Penang and its people.

You won't want to miss this revealing new book from one of Penang's most prolific non-fiction authors!

504 pp, 228 x 155 x 32 mm, 860 gm, cover flaps

Published September 2023