For The Love of Siam (P)

    "FOR THE LOVE OF SIAM" Do you ever wonder what Ayutthaya was really like when it was the capital of Siam, and once the greatest city of the East? Or do you ever think how all those sea-going vessels Chinese junks, Makassar schooners and European square-riggers all made their way up the River of Kings in the days before steam engines? In his latest nook, For the Love of Siam, author Harold Stephens tells us about life in the Siamese capital during the reign of King Narai in the 17th century, and he takes us aboard those ships that came up the river to trade. Through his descriptions we learn about the customs of the Siamese 400 years ago, their habits and their dress. There's plenty of swashbuckling action, shipwrecks, swords fights, wild elephant hunts, battles with Muslim rebels and romance and intrigue. The author calls the book a historical novel for it is based on facts with actual historical events that happened. We learn about the attempts of European powers to take over Siam, but it s only through cleaver manipulating by King Narai and his Greek foreign Minister that they were able to use religion to play off one power and against the other. Stephens in his writing has the ability of making history come alive, and with the turning of each page he makes you feel you are there. We find ourselves in Japan, witnessing Japanese Christians being exiled to Siam, and the next instant we are in the court of King Louis XIV of France welcoming the Siamese embassy.

Chapter 1 Shipwrecked
Chapter 2 Siam at Last
Chapter 3 The Outcast
Chapter 4 Master of the Seas
Chapter 5 Ayutthaya Calling
Chapter 6 Crossing the Kra
Chapter 7 Office of Richard Burnaby, Esq
Chapter 8 A Lady in Waiting
Chapter 9 The Making of a Mandarin
Chapter 10 The Necklace
, etc.