The landscape is Burma, or Myanmar as the country is now called. A novel of a simple girl who became a much-favoured queen and what happens when a woman becomes elevated to such a high postion in the early days.
Collis also tells the reader why he wrote this book: "I have attempted to recreate a drama which has been considered the strangest and most memorable in Burmese history. With a minor exceptions, the characters, the structure and story generally come straight from the chronicle, (of the Glass Palace, dating from 1829) while twenty years' experience oof Burma has given me the blood and spirit with which to animate them".
1. The Hamadryad
2. The Dirty Pup
3. The Sleeve
4. The Mountain Oracle
5. The Jasmin Bush
6. Ma Saw's Elevation
7. The Royal Chaplain
8. The Fatal Hunting
9. At the Graveside
10. The Rope Trick
,etc.