Editing Anna Leonowens (section)

==In popular culture==
[[Margaret Landon]]'s novel ''[[Anna and the King of Siam (book)|Anna and the King of Siam]]'' (1944) provides a fictionalised look at Anna Leonowens's years at the royal court and develops the [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionist]] theme that resonated with her American readership.<ref>{{cite journal |first=Laura |last=Donaldson |title='The King and I' in Uncle Tom's Cabin, or on the Border of the Women's Room |journal=Cinema Journal |volume=29 |issue=3 |year=1990 |pages=53–68 |doi=10.2307/1225180 |jstor=1225180}}</ref> In 1946, Talbot Jennings and [[Sally Benson]] adapted it into the [[screenplay]] for a [[Anna and the King of Siam (film)|dramatic film of the same name]], starring [[Irene Dunne]] and [[Rex Harrison]]. In response, Thai authors [[Seni Pramoj|Seni]] and [[Kukrit Pramoj]] wrote their own account in 1948 and sent it to American politician and diplomat [[Abbot Low Moffat]] (1901–1996), who drew on it for his biography ''Mongkut, the King of Siam'' (1961). Moffat donated the Pramoj brothers' manuscript to the [[Library of Congress]] in 1961.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/asian/guide/guide-southeast.html |title=Southeast Asian Collection, Asian Division, Library of Congress |publisher=Loc.gov |date=20 August 2012 |access-date=24 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023003638/http://www.loc.gov/rr/asian/guide/guide-southeast.html |archive-date=23 October 2012 }}</ref><ref>[https://www.archive.org/details/mongkutthekingof002419mbp Mongkut, the King of Siam] Entire text online at the Internet Archive.</ref>

[[File:Lawrence Brynner.jpg|thumb|[[Gertrude Lawrence]] (Anna) and [[Yul Brynner]] (king) in ''[[The King and I]]'', 1951]]
Landon had, however, created the iconic image of Leonowens, and "in the mid-20th century she came to personify the eccentric [[Victorian era|Victorian]] female traveler".<ref>{{cite news |first=Alan |last=Riding |title=Globe-Trotting Englishwomen Who Helped Map the World |newspaper=The New York Times |date=19 August 2004 |page=E1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/19/arts/globe-trotting-englishwomen-who-helped-map-the-world.html }}</ref> The novel was adapted as a hit musical by [[Rodgers and Hammerstein]], ''[[The King and I]]'' (1951), starring [[Gertrude Lawrence]] and [[Yul Brynner]], which ran 1,246 performances on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]<ref>{{cite news |first=Vincent |last=Canby |title=Once Again, The Taming of a Despot |newspaper=The New York Times |date=12 April 1996 |page=C1 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/04/12/theater/theater-review-once-again-the-taming-of-a-despot.html }}</ref> and was also a hit in London and on tour. In 1956, a [[The King and I (1956 film)|film version]] was released, with [[Deborah Kerr]] starring in the role of Leonowens and Brynner reprising his role as the king. Brynner starred in many revivals until his death in 1985.<ref>{{cite book|last=Capua|first=Michelangelo|publisher=McFarland|title=Yul Brynner: A Biography|year=2006|isbn=0-7864-2461-3}}</ref>

The humorous depiction of Mongkut as a [[polka]]-dancing [[Despotism|despot]], as well as the king's and Anna's apparent romantic feelings for each other, is condemned as disrespectful in Thailand, where the Rodgers and Hammerstein film and musical were banned by the government. The 1946 film version of ''[[Anna and the King of Siam (film)|Anna and the King of Siam]]'', starring [[Rex Harrison]] as Mongkut and [[Irene Dunne]] as Anna, was allowed to be shown in Thailand, although it was banned in newly independent India as an inaccurate insult by Westerners to an Eastern king. In 1950, the Thai government did not permit the film to be shown for the second time in Thailand. The books ''Romance in the Harem'' and ''An English Governess at the Siamese Court'' were not banned in Thailand. There were even Thai translations of these books by Ob Chaivasu, a Thai humor writer.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

During a visit to the United States in 1960, the monarch of Thailand, [[Bhumibol Adulyadej|King Bhumibol]] (a great-grandson of Mongkut), and his entourage explained<ref>'King's Ears Won't Hear Songs from "King and I"', ''The Washington Post'' (28 June 1960), p. C1.</ref> that from what they could gather from the reviews of the musical, the characterisation of Mongkut seemed "90 percent exaggerated. My great-grandfather was really quite a mild and nice man."<ref>Marguerite Higgins, "Siam King Found Shy And Welfare-Minded", ''The Washington Post'' (30 August 1951), p. B11.</ref> Years later, during her 1985 visit to New York, Bhumibol's wife, [[Sirikit|Queen Sirikit]], went to see the Broadway musical at the invitation of Yul Brynner.<ref>[http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20010930002644/http%3A//www%2Ethaiembdc%2Eorg/monarchy/k_i/bostonk_i%2Ehtml Archived copy] at the [[Library of Congress]] (30 September 2001).</ref> The then ambassador of Thailand to the U.S. gave another reason for Thailand's disapproval of ''The King and I'': its ethno-centric attitude and its barely hidden insult to the whole Siamese nation by portraying its people as childish and inferior to the Westerners.{{citation needed|date=December 2020}}

In 1972, [[Twentieth Century Fox]] produced a non-musical American TV series for [[CBS]], [[Anna and the King (TV series)|''Anna and the King'']], with [[Samantha Eggar]] taking the part of Leonowens and Brynner reprising his role as the king. Margaret Landon charged the makers with "inaccurate and mutilated portrayals" of her literary property and sued unsuccessfully for copyright infringement.<ref>Lawrence Meyer, "Court And 'The King{{'"}}, ''The Washington Post'' (21 November 1972), p. B2.</ref><ref>''Landon v. Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.'', 384 F. Supp. 450 (S.D.N.Y. 1974), in Biederman ''et al.'' (2007) ''Law and Business of the Entertainment Industries'', 5th edition, pp. 349–356, Greenwood Pub. Group, Westport, Connecticut {{ISBN|978-0-31308-373-0}}</ref> The series was not a success and was cancelled after only 13 episodes. In 1999 an [[The King and I (1999 film)|animated film]] using the songs of the musical was released by [[Warner Bros. Animation]]. In the same year, [[Jodie Foster]] and [[Chow Yun-fat]] starred in a new feature-length cinematic adaptation of Leonowens's books, also titled ''[[Anna and the King]]''. One Thai critic complained that the [[filmmakers]] had made Mongkut "appear like a cowboy"; this version was also banned by censors in Thailand.<ref>[https://archive.today/20120709095546/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDP/is_2000_Jan_3/ai_58532685 "Thailand bans 'Anna and the King{{'"}}], (3 January 2000) ''Asian Economic News'', Retrieved 29 August 2008</ref>

Leonowens appears as a character in [[Paul Marlowe]]'s novel ''Knights of the Sea'', in which she travels from Halifax to Baddeck in 1887 to take part in a campaign to promote women's suffrage during a [[by-election]].{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}