Prisoner from Penang


Book Description

After Penang is attacked by the Japanese at the end of 1941, Mary Helston believes Singapore will be a safe haven. But within weeks the supposedly invincible British stronghold is on the brink of collapse to the advancing enemy. Mary and her mother are captured at sea as they try to escape and are interned on the islands of Sumatra. Imprisoned with them is Veronica Leighton, the one person on the planet Mary has reason to loathe with a passion. As the motley band of women struggle to adapt to captivity, relationships and friendships are tested. When starvation, lack of medication and the spread of disease worsen, each woman must draw on every ounce of strength in their battle for survival. A vivid and moving story of sacrifice, hope and humanity. From the best-selling author of The Pearl of Penang.




Prisoner from Penang


Book Description

An incredible story of the courage of two ordinary women incarcerated on the Indonesian islands during WW2, inspired by real-life events.




The Pearl of Penang


Book Description

Flynn's tenth novel explores love, marriage, the impact of war and the challenges of displacement - this time in a tropical paradise as the threat of the Japanese empire looms closer.




The Penang Collection


Book Description

Three powerful novels from a prize-winning storyteller Set before, during and after World War 2 on the beautiful Far Eastern island of Penang, these books and their memorable characters will keep you up all night reading THE PEARL OF PENANG - EVIE'S STORY In 1939, lonely and without prospects, Evie Fraser accepts a marriage proposal by post from a man she barely knows. Evie leaves her quiet English village for a new life on the exotic tropical island of Penang. Soon she finds herself pitched against her new husband on the one hand and the shallow spiteful world of the expatriate British on the other. Has she made a terrible life-changing mistake? Winner of the 2020 BookBrunch Selfies award for Adult Fiction PRISONER FROM PENANG - MARY'S STORY In late 1941, when the Japanese attack Penang, Mary Helston flees to the safe haven of Singapore, only for it to fall within weeks. Imprisoned by the Japanese on the nearby islands of Sumatra, Mary and her fellow women internees begin a desperate struggle for survival. But it's not only the Japanese and starvation that Mary is up against, as with her in the camp is the one woman Mary has good cause to loathe with a passion. A PAINTER IN PENANG - JASMINE'S STORY The war is over and Evie's unhappy step daughter, Jasmine, is desperate to return to the island of Penang where she grew up. When Mary, Evie's best friend, offers to host Jasmine, the sixteen year-old is over the moon. As Jasmine settles into her new life, enjoying her painting, communist insurgents begin the reign of terror that becomes the Malayan Emergency. Before long, Jasmine is drawn into a world of danger and secrets from the past that will force her to grow up faster than she had expected. "In this testament to the strength of female friendship and endurance under the harshest of conditions, Flynn has imagined the unimaginable - a dazzling achievement." Linda Gillard, author of The Memory Tree and House of Silence. "A powerful and moving story of atrocity and of the human heart's ability to love, endure and, perhaps, find love again." Lorna Fergusson, Author and Owner of FictionFire "a core of joy and warmth in it. It gives hope. Which is something everyone in the world needs at the moment." (Books by Bindu blog_




The Ordeal


Book Description

Abandoned by her parents, brought up by her strict maternal grandmother in a small backwater town, young Beatrice Saubin always dreamed of visiting warm climates and exotic places. As a teenager she hitchhiked to India and later to Afghanistan and Thailand. In Malaysia, at age nineteen, she fell in love with Eddy Tan Kim Soo, a handsome, wealthy Chinese man. They planned to meet in Europe and marry. But at the airport on her way home, her spanking new Samsonite suitcase—a gift from Eddy— was ripped apart by custom officials. Beatrice was horrified to see that it contained several kilos of heroin. Clearly she had been set up by Eddy, who, it turned out, was a member of a powerful drug cartel. Arrested, Beatrice languished in prison for two years before she was tried. Her sentence: death by hanging. On appeal, her sentence was reduced to life in prison. Efforts on the part of her grandmother and an impassioned attorney managed to stir up public opinion, finally leading to Beatrice’s release after ten years. But however terrible, these years were not lost. While in prison, her spirits were never broken: she taught herself Malaysian and Cantonese, and became a model prisoner and a leader as well as a medical supervisor, caring for her fellow inmates. The Ordeal is her odyssey—always gripping, often terrifying, but ultimately a story of courage and inspiration.




Blue Book for the Year ...


Book Description




Prisoners Their Own Warders


Book Description

This work presents a concise account of the system pursued in the old Singapore jail. The writers traced the history of the convict establishments in all the penal settlements, showing the progress in the prisons until a system of organization and discipline had been satisfactorily attained at the headquarters jail in Singapore. Contents include: Early Records of Bencoolen and Observations About Convicts A Slight Sketch of Penang and the Treatment of the Convicts There Old Malacca and the First Introduction of Convicts There A Running History of Singapore: Its Jail System and Administration Singapore Division Into Classes, Traders, Food, and Clothing Public Works and Industries Stories About Indian Convicts and European Local Prisoners Abolition of the Convict Department and Disposal of the Convicts Diseases and Malingering Conclusion




The Pearl of Penang


Book Description

As World War Two looms closer, a young woman travels to a far-off tropical paradise on the promise of a new life, in this powerful and emotionally gripping love story.




The Ordeal


Book Description

Describes a young French woman's experience in a Malaysian prison, how she survived it and how it effected her.




The Gift of Rain


Book Description

In the tradition of celebrated wartime storytellers Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene, Tan Twan Eng's debut novel casts a powerful spell. The recipient of extraordinary acclaim from critics and the bookselling community, Tan Twan Eng's debut novel casts a powerful spell and has garnered comparisons to celebrated wartime storytellers Somerset Maugham and Graham Greene. Set during the tumult of World War II, on the lush Malayan island of Penang, The Gift of Rain tells a riveting and poignant tale about a young man caught in the tangle of wartime loyalties and deceits. In 1939, sixteen-year-old Philip Hutton-the half-Chinese, half-English youngest child of the head of one of Penang's great trading families-feels alienated from both the Chinese and British communities. He at last discovers a sense of belonging in his unexpected friendship with Hayato Endo, a Japanese diplomat. Philip proudly shows his new friend around his adored island, and in return Endo teaches him about Japanese language and culture and trains him in the art and discipline of aikido. But such knowledge comes at a terrible price. When the Japanese savagely invade Malaya, Philip realizes that his mentor and sensei-to whom he owes absolute loyalty-is a Japanese spy. Young Philip has been an unwitting traitor, and must now work in secret to save as many lives as possible, even as his own family is brought to its knees.