Woman between two kingdoms : Dara Rasami and the making of modern Thailand

__Woman Between Two Kingdoms__ explores the story of Dara Rasami, one of 153 wives of King Chulalongkorn of Siam in Thailand during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in a kingdom near Siam called Lan Na, Dara served as both hostage and diplomat for her family and nation. Thought of as a "harem" by the West, Siam's Inner Palace actually formed a nexus between the domestic and the political. Dara's role as an ethnic "other" among the royal concubines assisted the Siamese in both consolidating the kingdom's territory and building a local version of Europe's hierarchy of civilizations. Dara Rasami's story provides a fresh perspective on both the socio-political roles played by Siamese palace women, and how Siam responded to the intense imperialist pressures it faced in the late nineteenth century.

Woman Between Two Kingdoms explores the story of DaraRasami, one of 153 wives of King Chulalongkorn of Siam in Thailandduring the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in akingdom near Siam called Lan Na, Dara served as both hostage anddiplomat for her family and nation.

Thought of as a "harem" by the West, Siam's Inner Palaceactually formed a nexus between the domestic and the political.Dara's role as an ethnic "other" among the royal concubinesassisted the Siamese in both consolidating the kingdom's territoryand building a local version of Europe's hierarchy ofcivilizations. Dara Rasami's story provides a fresh perspective onboth the socio-political roles played by Siamese palace women, andhow Siam responded to the intense imperialist pressures it faced inthe late nineteenth century.

Woman Between Two Kingdoms explores the story of Dara Rasami, one of 153 wives of King Chulalongkorn of Siam in Thailand during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in a kingdom near Siam called Lan Na, Dara served as both hostage and diplomat for her family and nation. Thought of as a harem by the West, Siam's Inner Palace actually formed a nexus between the domestic and the political. Dara's role as an ethnic Other among the royal concubines assisted the Siamese in both consolidating the kingdom's territory and building a local version of Europe's hierarchy of civilizations. Dara Rasami's story provides a fresh perspective on both the sociopolitical roles played by Siamese palace women, and Siam's response to the intense imperialist pressures it faced in the late nineteenth century. "A study of Princess Dara Rasami, one of 153 royal consorts to the king of Thailand, that reveals the central roles played by women in the political dynamics of both the nascent Thai nation and Southeast Asia, shedding light on ethnic difference and gender relations in nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Thailand"-- Provided by publisher