Description
The first biography in decades of the 'Father of Singapore'
About the Author
Victoria Glendinning is a prizewinning biographer, the author of lives of Elizabeth Bowen, Vita Sackville-West, Edith Sitwell, Trollope and Leonard Woolf. She has also written three novels, The Grown-Ups, ElectricityandFlight. She is a Vice-President of English PEN, Vice-President of the Royal Society of Literature and was awarded a CBE in 1998. Born in Yorkshire, she now lives in Dorset. She is currently working on a novel about nuns.
Reviews
Spirited, fluent and immaculately researched ... Glendinning's book, with its breezy prose and brisk judgments, makes a splendid tribute to a great British character - the kind of man who gives empire a good name * Sunday Times *
Marvellously readable, personally illuminating and highly entertaining * Guardian *
Magnificent ... By honing in on such a great life for her first non-literary biography Ms Glendinning is in danger of giving imperialism a good name * The Economist *
At last. A truly magnificent biography of the most incorrigible of empire-builders. Victoria Glendinning has produced a judicious and utterly compelling account of the man who would change the map of South East Asia -- John Keay
A sparkling new life of Raffles . . . compellingly related by Glendinning . . . unputdownable . . . Glendinning has rescued Raffles from decades of neglect and post-colonial guilt. Vivid, beautifully written and a terrific read, this is a wonderful biography * Literary Review *
Glendinning's gift is delivering a story that moves with the alacrity of an absorbing novel * Scotsman *
Glendinning's great gift for story and fine feeling for character brightens this analysis of Raffles' still ambiguous reputation * Times *
Magical and meticulous . . . Raffles had achieved something which would change both the economic and political geography of South-east Asia and as we learn from these exotic yet careful pages he did a great deal more besides * Daily Express *
a fascinating, sympathetic portrait of an enigmatic figure * Observer *
easy paced, absorbing * Independent *
a compelling rollercoaster * Daily Mail Books of the Year *
Engaging... shows Glendinning's sympathetic understanding of the human drama at the heart of this story of imperial adventure. -- Anne Chisholm * Sunday Telegraph *
Book Information
ISBN 9781846686047
Author Victoria Glendinning
Format Paperback
Page Count 384
Imprint Profile Books Ltd
Publisher Profile Books Ltd
Weight(grams) 319g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 23mm