Christ Church, Malacca : built by the Dutch in 1753, dominates the Town Square. Adjacent to it is the Stadthuys [built to house the Dutch Governor in 1650]. After the Anglo Dutch Treaty in 1824, Malacca was administered by the English. It was here that Pieter Steffens hides before his rendezvous with Victor in Living the Legacy.
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
Interviewed for Decembers’ Historical Novels Review I was delighted to be chosen for an interview by Ellen Irwin for this months' Historical Novels Review, to mark one year since the publication of LIVING THE LEGACY …. In addition to the interview appearing in the printed magazine, it also features on the Historical Novel Society website. It's a great interview which gave me an opportunity to give my readers (and potential readers) an insight into my influences and ways of working, and let me talk about my own interests. You can read the whole interview online here https://historicalnovelsociety.org/launch-elisabeth-conways-living-the-legacy/ I was also pleased to see that the interview… 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
Dense Forest in China: The mountainous coastal region of south-eastern China was covered in sub-tropical evergreen forest during the period in which Hope Dares to Blossom is set. Edmund is determined to collect only the plants that are prolific and to take them for scientific research. However, because an interest in natural history had become popular in 19th century Europe, there were many people who were not so conscientious and would go to great lengths to obtain rare species which could be sold at an enormous profit.