A statue of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles : that stands beside the Singapore River. It marks the place where he landed in 1819 and subsequently negotiated the lease of a piece of land for a British trading settlement. The development of this story features in A Strand of Gold and is continued in Hope Dares to Blossom. In Living the Legacy, all the stands come together and form the foundation for the thriving Republic of Singapore today.
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
Busy street in Calcutta: Raffles visited Calcutta on several occasions to negotiate with the Governor General and other high-ranking officials in the East India Company. It is also a scene like this that was witnessed by Pieter Steffens when he was released from jail at the beginning of Living the Legacy.