Pages through time
Historical fiction, Siamese Tears tells the story of how Thailand managed to escape Western colonisation
Claire Keefe-Fox’s new historical fiction novel Siamese Tears explores how Thailand managed to remain uncolonised during a period of rampant Western expansionism. It begins in 1938, then quickly whirls back in time to 1890 to begin an intriguing tale of loss and loyalty. Siamese Tears unfolds around Julie, the half-English, half-French protagonist, in a series of letters and narration. The young woman hastily marries her husband Louis, a botanist, in Europe and soon follows him to Asia where he is to join a French mission in Saigon, then Laos. His mission was set to map the Mekong basin, but the Siamese believed it was actually the beginning of a military invasion.
While Louis was away, Julie stays in Bangkok with her cousin Michael, an English diplomat, often receiving her brother Victor who is with the French military. She begins to evolve into her own, as she bears a son and later moves into her own house where she stays for years alongside her Siamese servants.
Julie is viewed as “an important”, which allows her access to the royal palace and to eventually teach in the Siamese court. She forms a close friendship with Mom Ratchawong Keow, known to Julie as Princess Keow, who manages the education of the King’s daughters and other princesses. Julie teaches French to the girls at the palace, and through their interactions begins to speak the local language.
“There was no way I could report on what the Siamese were thinking and I certainly wouldn’t have ventured to do that, but I was basically reporting on what [Julie] perceived over of what the Siamese were thinking,” Keefe-Fox said on her recent visit to promote the book in Bangkok.
Tensions between the British, the French and the Siamese heighten throughout the novel as the imperial powers scuttle for land. The characters are also torn by expectations versus feelings of allegiance.
“Perhaps it is possible to have several home countries, you know, geography, or chance of being born here or there, does not necessarily determine which country you then choose for yourself.”
This isn’t the first time the half-French, half-American author has taken on Thai history. Keefe-Fox previously penned Falcon Of Ayutthaya and Taksin: King Of The Rice Fields. She has worked periodically in Thailand since 1975. She was once an interpreter for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Thailand and has even worked at the Thai Embassy back home in Paris.
She returned to France to write, finding it easier to conjure last century’s streets of Siam away from modern Bangkok.
For the novel, she was inspired by her French roots and intrigued by King Rama V’s ability to turn turmoil into unification.
“That’s probably the point at which the Siamese population as a whole actually became fully away of the role, the political role of the monarchy, and this concept of the monarchy as a shield.”
Siam acted as a buffer between the French and British forces, while beginning to centralise politics and formalise borders, language and the military.
Siam didn’t emerge without bruises or retain all of its land, but did remain independent which catalysed the region further towards modernisation.
“The possibility of being colonised by the French or by the British in the late 19th century was very real, and it didn’t happen. Siam was able to escape that fate,” the historical fiction author said.
This fostered a deep sense of pride in the Thai national identity, as well as reverence for the monarchy which still dominates today. She hopes the novel will cultivate empathy for the Siamese experience.
People, particularly visiting Westerners, don’t know enough about Thailand’s history, she said, attributing the scant knowledge to a lack of accessible material, rather than a lack of effort.
To her, history is the story of human passion, but she’s found that historical literature typically tells monotonous tales of wins, losses and invasions, so she wanted to offer more.
“They were all very human and that is something that I wanted to illustrate… there weren’t enough books like that about Siamese history.”
Keefe-Fox said in the past the coloniser believed colonisation to be positive and added she can’t judge century-old actions with present day standards.
For the author, moral absolutes like good and bad exist, but she believes most actions in life hover in the space in between.
Even today, some politicians and leaders believe that colonisation was not entirely bad because it provided a common language and started development.
“The positivity is true in the sense of a vernacular. On the other hand, it also created gaping wounds and divisions.”
For the research, she had much more resource material, literally at her fingertips, compared to her previous two novels — where archives from the 17th century were scarce and most from the 18th century destroyed. She found the majority of what she needed through old letters, digitised archives and academic reference books.
The passing years turn daily news into historical facts, rendering newspapers portals to the past. The amount of preserved press from the late 19th century both amazed and inspired the author. Letters in the novel are imagined, but newspaper quotes are directly from old clippings.
With Siamese Tears now complete, Keefe-Fox’s future is uncertain. Her first decision will be whether or not to rewrite the story of Siam’s great escape into the French language. Curiously, she doesn’t seem to be done with the country’s history.
“There are still many stories to be told of Thailand’s past.”
There was no way I could report on what the Siamese were thinking, but I was reporting on what [Julie] perceived over of what the Siamese were thinking