'An acute and sometimes poignant account of the soft, all too vulnerable underbelly of a society tangoing heedlessly towards the abyss of the fall of Singapore: a tragic, classic case of pride before a fall' -- Charles Allen 'Margaret Shennan describes in fascinating detail the often bizarre and not infrequently terrible annals of colonial Malaya' -- Martin Booth, Sunday Times 'The author mingles family memories with historical insight to explore a corner of Empire often ignored by modern writers' -- Contemporary Review 20040801 'Margaret Shennan ... succeeds in this ambitious project quite brilliantly ... This book is highly recommended' -- Guards Magazine 20040801 'In her fine book, Margaret Shennan does belated justice to the brave and industrious men and women who gave their best to Malaya' -- Allan Massie, Literary Review 20040801

Margaret Shennan was born in Kuching, Borneo (now East Malaysia), was brought up in Province Wellesley and went to school in the Cameron Highlands. She is a prize-winning historian and writer, and one of her first books was her childhood autobiography Missee. She lives in Lancaster.