Joseph Conrad, Somerset Maugham, Henri Fauconnier – these are the classics whose lyricism gave shape to the early western vision of Malaysia. Then there are more contemporary authots like Anthony Burgess, Paul Theroux and Redmond O’Hanlon who both got early inspiration from this tropical land, source of the word amok, of jungle spirits and ghosts, where dark passions simmer beneath a surface calm.

Romantic dreams of a sultry Malay archipelago were soon shattered by harsh realities and the oppressiveness of living in the jungle. That brought existential doubts heightened by living in isolated outposts, steamy love affairs with beautiful Malay women (all the writers were male of course) and stuffy colonial clubs to drown their sorrows. These are the recurring themes of pre-Independence western fiction set in Malaysia.