Power, passion, politics. The sleepy state of Sarawak is stirred up as never before by the arrival of Gerald McBryan. An unscrupulous adventurer, he soon has the Rajah and Ranee eating out of his hand. The eminence grise of Rajah Vyner, he forces through decisions that have shaped what Sarawak is today. Twilight of the White Rajahs is set in the Sarawak of the interwar and immediate postwar period. Vyner, like Henry VII of England, has inherited a tightly run ship of state. But his own playboy nature, the antics of his wife and most important his failure to produce a male heir, threaten the dynasty into which he was born. Outside forces also increase the pressure on his regime. War clouds in the Pacific and the South China Sea. The desire for self-determination. The bullying of the British Colonial Office. The turbulent wave of anti-cession created by the Rajah Muda, Peter Brooke. A war of hot tempers, cunning and deviousness ensued; a war that everyone was determined to win at all costs. Twilight of the White Rajahs recounts in fascinating detail the lives of the chief actors during this period. Twilight of the White Rajahs continues the saga of Golden Dreams of Borneo as the tough pioneering spirit of the 19th century gives way to the more sophisticated politics of the 20th.

The story of the Brooke dynasty, James, Charles, and Vyner, Rajahs of Sarawak for over a hundred years.

If there was an honour roll of bibliographies of the Malayan campaign and the Japanese occupation of Malaya, Singapore and Borneo, this work would come close to the top of the list. With over 4,000 entries, it is a formidable collection and there is no doubt that Justin Corfield's efforts will be valuable to scholars working on this important aspect of military as well as Malayan and Singapore history. Corfield has compiled a virtual treasure trove of hitherto seemingly untouched material in the form of original diaries and other unpublished personal accounts, including material not only in English and Dutch, but also in Malay and Chinese. Three indices greatly facilitate the looking up of entries.