Author Description

Christine Wu Ramsay grew up in the British Straits Settlement of Penang which is part of present-day Malaysia. Her account begins with the arrival of her great-grandfather, Leong Fee - a poor Hakka migrant from China who rose to become the owner of the famous `Tambun Mines' in Perak and a Vice-Consul of China in Penang. Brought up by her grandparents and cared for by black-and-white amahs, Christine enjoyed an idyllic childhood - affected but not marred by the Japanese Occupation and declining family fortunes - up till her departure for Australia in 1957. Using over a hundred photographs from her family album, she recounts a way of life and philosophy where the practice of polygamy and the ownership of bondmaids were accepted facets of life.