Description
This book was written during an era when Sabah was known as North Borneo, and when life was very much different from today’s. Reprinted many times, this classic, of Agnes Keith’s observations and reflections of the time, is a true-to-life record of society and culture then and of the captivating natural beauty of Sabah. Today, Sabah continues to be known as the “land below the wind”, a phrase used by seafarers in the past to describe all the lands south of the typhoon belt, but which Agnes effectively reserved for Sabah through her book. One of few written accounts of contemporary life in Borneo in the 1930s, this book is an invaluable record of a world gone by.
Table of Contents
- Message by Tengku Datuk Dr Zainal Adlin vii
- Foreword by Patricia Regis ix
- The North Borneo of Old by K.M. Wong xi
- Agnes Keith in Borneo by John Macartney xv
- “Look up the facts!” 3
- Outpost of the Empire 17
- What do the women do? 49
- Government house 59
- Visitors 68
- A son is born 89
- Sulu Sea 117
- A man of the river goes home 139
- Small boy 158
- Their private lives 175
- A pioneer prepares 205
- XII. A HUNDRED TEETH AND A HUNDRED EYES 229
- XIII. A BLUE UMBRELLA 240
- XIV. JUNGLE MUD 271
- XV. A PIONEER RETURNS 305
- XVI. WITH A SHINING STAR 329
- XVII. THE HOUSE OF FRIENDS 331
- XVIII. TWO PEOPLE WHOM I LIKE 345
- XIX. FEVER 353
- XX. HOME 362