Sylvia Brooke (1885-1971), better known as the Ranee of Sarawak, was the wife, consort, and—by custom—slave of Sir Vyner Brooke, the last White Rajah of the jungle
kingdom of
Sarawak on the island of Borneo. The nation had its own flag, revenue,
postage stamps, and money, and for three
generations the White Rajahs had held the power of life and death over their
subjects But by the 1930s there was a sharp
decline in their power and prestige, and at the center of it all stood Ranee Sylvia. Author of eleven books, an extravagantly-dressed socialite and incorrigible self-dramatist, the Ranee was described by the press as “that most charming of despots” and by her own brother as “a female Iago.” With a supporting cast including her father, a celebrated courtier in love with his own son, and her whimsical and sexually incontinent husband, this is the fascinating account of the extraordinary and often malevolent life of Ranne Sylvia.
