Yuangrat and I are pleased to announce that we have signed an agreement with River Books to publish our historical novel, Beads on a String: A Novel of Southern Siam. The novel tells the story of four families in the coastal cities along the Gulf of Siam that become linked together by love, hate, ambition and tragedy beginning at the end of the 19th century.
We hope readers will enjoy inhabiting our carefully researched recreation of life in the southern provinces at a time of wrenching change. Siam under King Chulalongkorn was then struggling to transform itself from a kingdom of traditional semi-independent states into a modern, centralized nation. The king’s reforms impacted laws, administration, religion and society. This transformation, coupled with the introduction of new technologies, foreign ideologies and pressure from the colonial powers, affected all aspects of life in the south.
King Chulalongkorn driving a car
In two decades, steamships replaced sail, a railroad linked the south to the capital, automobiles competed with horse carts and elephants, and telegraph lines sped information between the king and his officials in the provinces.
Sailing junk in a storm
Local cultures, once separated by thick forests and difficult transport, mixed and merged, competed and clashed. The families in our tale are Thai, Chinese, Mon and Malay. Their joining together is troubled by misunderstanding, cultural clashes and struggles for identity and success.
While we have worked to keep the story historically accurate, our first priority is to entertain. The story includes troubled romances, storms at sea, family conflict, violent uprisings, political treachery and a religious quest.
Women gambling in Siam around the turn of the century
With the River Books agreement, we have begun working on the formidable task of editing this complex story. We were pleased that River Books appointed Nick Grossman as editor. We are familiar with Nick’s keen sense of narrative and careful editing from working together on the non-fiction King Bhumibol Adulyadej: A Life’s Work.
There is still a lot of work ahead on editing and designing the book. We also look forward to working with River Books to publicize and market novel, which will be available in both paperback and ebook editions, hopefully by the end of the year.
River Books, based in London and Bangkok, has particular expertise in books about Thai history, both fiction and non-fiction. The River Books catalogue includes fiction such as Curtain of Rain and After the Rain by Tew Bunnag, Bangkok in Times of Love and War and Siamese Tears by Claire Keefe-Fox, Last to The Front by Gee Svasti and The Stairway Guide’s Daughter by John Burgess.
In addition, last year River Books published the translation of Veeraporn Nittiprabha’s SEAwrite-award-winning novel The Blind Earthworm in the Labyrinth.
River Books’ non-fiction histories include Lords of Life: A History of The Kings of Thailand by HRH Prince Chula Chakrabongse, Thailand’s Political History: From the Thirteenth Century to Modern Times by B.J. Terwiel, books on Thai and Southeast Asian archaeology and many books on Thai popular culture.
You can see more about River Books at https://www.riverbooksbk.com/index.ph
We look forward to the publishing process and promise to keep our readers informed as it all moves forward.