When charismatic adventurer James Brooke travels to Borneo on the schooner Royalist, he plans to make a great fortune establishing trade between the natives and the British Empire. But even in his flights of fancy, he'd never imagined that he would end up rajah of his own country. The story is told by John Williamson, a young sailor who has travelled with Brooke since he set out from England. They find themselves mixed up in Borneo's civil war, political divisions, and intrigue, being forced further and further away from their dreams and ideals and struggling to establish the British presence on the island - as, meanwhile, love grows between them ... Based on the true story of James Brooke, the first White Rajah of Sarawak, this tale of adventure and love is set against the background of a jungle world of extraordinary beauty and savagery.

The White Rajah documents a fascinating time in Sarawak made possible by high integrity of three generations of Brooke men.

The breathtaking island of Makassang, in the Java Sea, is the setting for this tremendous historical novel. Piracy, plundering and barbarism are rife. The ageing Rajah, threatened by rebellion, enlists the help of Richard Marriott - baronet's son-turned-buccaneer, but Richard falls for the Rajah's daughter.

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Sir James Brooke was an extraordinary 'eminent' Victorian, whose life was the stuff of legend.His curious career began in 1841 when he was caught up in a war in Brunei which had started because a party of local Dayaks had refused to furl their umbrellas in the presence of the Sultan. Brooke was an opportunist who, with the Sultan's backing, made war on the Dayaks tribespeople and eventually found himself ruling over Sarawak - a kingdom the size of England - as a result. How he achieved it is a romantic, sometimes horrifying story. Brooke is someone that George Macdonald Fraser would scarcely dare to invent. Errol Flynn wanted to play him in a movie, seventy years after his death and his dynasty is remembered throughout South-East Asia.

The breathtaking island of Makassang, in the Java Sea, is the setting for this tremendous historical novel. Piracy, plundering and barbarism are rife. The ageing Rajah, threatened by rebellion, enlists the help of Richard Marriott - baronet's son-turned-buccaneer, but Richard falls for the Rajah's daughter.