In the years between 1867 and 1941, northern Siam (the present-day north of Thailand) was home to small communities of farang or western foreigners. Although they made a great impact on the region, their numbers were small: the number of farang in the north probably never exceeded 200 at any one time.

The westerners who came to live and work in the north during this period fell generally into three main categories: men and women associated with the American Presbyterian Mission in the north; the so-called “teak-wallahs” who were, properly speaking, the managers and assistants employed by those international companies that had won concessions to exploit the forests of the north; and government officials. Some of the latter were British diplomats but most were specialists of various kinds working for the Siamese government.

Reading was an important recreational activity for westerners in the north, but they also wrote. We have not only personal letters and official reports, but articles in newspapers and magazines, and also memoirs. In the years before the Great War, short stories about teak-wallahs and their lives began to appear, and later full-length novels. The present book is a selection made from these writings. Themes include not only the “enchanted land” itself but also private life and relationships.