Queen of the Headhunters: The Autobiography of Sylvia Brooke, Wife of the Last White Rajah of Sarawak

by Sylvia Brooke

The candid, eccentric and witty autobiography of Her Highness the Honorable Sylvia Lady Brooke, wife of Sarawak's last White Rajah. Raised among footmen, the children of the Royal Family, the famous, and daughter of a British aristocrat who was the confidant of prime ministers, Sylvia seemed the least likely candidate to rule over a kingdom of Borneo's most primitive head-hunting tribes. But this is not the story of a life that ever went according to plan; instead, it is a remarkable account of adventure as Sylvia Brooke saw it and lived it for a period of eighty years.

"The runt in a litter of pedigree puppies," Sylvia suffered a bewildering and traumatic childhood pivoting between luxury (she recounts a wicked story of her playmate, young Prince Edward, assassinating some ducklings) and neglect. Her shyness and insecurity were only enhanced by her father's austerity, yet even her pre-adolescent attempts at suicide were fiascos. Sylvia did, however, excel at writing, and both J. M. Barrie and G. B. Shaw became her literary mentors. When she fell madly in love with Vyner Brooke, the man who would rescue her and make her his queen, Shaw wrote: "I defy you to find a young man half as interesting as I am."

But the most exotic of her memoirs is the story of her marriage to Vyner, last in the line of the infamous White Rajahs, one of the most remarkable dynasties of modern times. Her new home was a strange and beautiful land filled with natives as gay as they were savage. She relates with gusto the secrets of her married life—among them, her Rajah's roving eye, which roved until his eighties and which never ruffled the Ranee or daunted their happiness together.

Queen of the Head Hunters is a unique personal history of an era when autocracy was kindly, and of a woman who lived life like a fairy tale.

Genres: History, Autobiography, Nonfiction, Biography

194 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Sylvia Leonora, Lady Brooke, Ranee of Sarawak (born The Hon. Sylvia Leonora Brett), was an English aristocrat who became the consort to Sir Charles Vyner de Windt Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, the last of the White Rajahs.

Reviews

[Sportyrod · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting autobiography of an upper class woman who married the Rajah (king) of Sarawak, Borneo to become the queen.

This book has many elements that make it a unique read. I have read two other books on this rule including Three White Rajahs so it was good to get a behind-the-scenes insight into the inner workings of the rule.

The Rajah was painted as a generous, selfless leader which left alone sounds amazing. However Lady Brooke reveals some humanising qualities about him such as his shyness, compartmentalisation and most of all his womanising! It seems as though barely one women did not fall into his charms. Lady B was remarkable and ahead of her time in terms of her rationalisation of this situation. She thought of their marriage as a loving friendship and was apparently not bothered or threatened by his revolving door of young women that he used to flaunt in her face. She didn’t say in as many words but may have implied that she racked up a few numbers of her own. Even still, this was not the main reason why the book was so original.

We heard about the rise to power, the policies, culture, interaction with the people, some poor decisions and much more.

The book was about herself as much as it was about her husband. She was very accomplished and wrote many books. Her constant name dropping of famous people she knew grew annoying very quickly but she balanced that out with alot of self criticism.

The second half of the book is far more interesting so stick with it.

I would recommend this to anyone who likes history, Borneo or about women who succeed despite trying circumstances.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick and bizarre read if you can handle the anachronisms and white savior stuff.

[Prue Mansfield · Rating 1 out of 5]

she was a shit woman, only interested in spending the money, and this was a shit book. DNF

[Lockhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fascinating story of the white Rajah Brookes of Sarawak is illuminated by this short autobiography by Sylvia, the last Ranee. The fact that she was a published author in her day and corresponded with JM Barrie and GB Shaw is testament to her writing skills. A very affectionate portrait of the indiginous Iban and Dayak peoples whose land is now, sadly, being raped by Malaysia.

[Evy · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good read and a history too. Told by the 2nd Lady Brooke herself. Somehow I cannot bring myself to believe that it was okay for her knowing that her husband was involved in many affairs.