A traditional Malay prahu : a sailing boat widely used in Malayan waters and a particular favourite of pirates. In Living the Legacy, Pieter Steffens [alias Kasim] purchased a small prahu a few days after his arrival in Singapore. A larger version was used for the longer trips he and Victor undertook to Sumatra to acquire groups of young women for the brothels in Singapore.
Elisabeth Conway
Author of the Strands of Shining Gold Trilogy
The Strands of Shining Gold Trilogy
The Strands of Shining Gold Trilogy comprises historical novels that follow the friendships and challenges of people from diverse environments, as they make their way through the exotic world that is mid 19th Century Singapore.
A Strand of Gold
The story begins in Guangzhou, China where two young women from very different backgrounds first meet. Their story continues in Singapore, where their hopes are shattered amid a male dominated world. More about the book >>
Hope Dares to Blossom
Beginning eighteen months after A Strand of Gold concludes, a young botanist has the good fortune to meet Raffles in London before he embarks upon a plant-collecting trip to China. In Singapore, he meets all the people who Raffles misses the most. More about the book >>
Now Available – Living the Legacy
The last tale in the Strands of Gold Trilogy, bringing the lives of the three main characters – Dick, Chin Ming, and Wing Yee – to a point where they are ready to step out on their own.. More about the book >>
Listen to a reading from Living the Legacy
From chapter 1: Pieter Steffens, newly released from 7 years in prison, bumps into someone who may help him in his plans…
Read by John Bruce.
Author notes
The White Hart hotel, Salisbury, 1858/59 Absorbed in drafting my new novel I keep coming across seductive rabbit holes - things that I need to research further before I can progress. Some of these are immediate and some will wait a while to fill in later. This week, I explored one of the 'to do later' issues. I have a couple of scenes set in The White Hart hotel in Salisbury in 1858/59, and although there is certain information you can access via good old Mr Google, I needed to visit the place, to ask questions and immerse myself in the setting. It was time well… continued...Watch an extract from A Strand of Gold being read
From chapter 3: Chin Ming has crept aboard the Golden Phoenix and has remained concealed in an unused cupboard…
Read by Miyuki Griffin.
The Places
Vessels anchored near Whampoa in Pearl River: Only the smaller ships could negotiate the shallow waters close to Guangzhou. The Indiamen needed to anchor at Whampoa, where they took on both cargo and passengers. Chin Ming can board The Golden Phoenix at the quay in A Strand of Gold, but Edmund must ferry his plant collection out to The Repulse, in Hope Dares to Blossom.