Indiscreet Memories: 1901 Singapore through the eyes of a colonial Englishman by Edwin Brown

Stepping off the SS Hamburg on a moonlit night in January 1901, Edwin A. Brown knew little about his new home—the Straits Settlement of Singapore. Through diary extracts and personal memories, this young Englishman brings to life characters and events in a country few would recognise today. Life for the early settlers was always eventful. Entertainment came in the form of comic operas, visiting circuses, balls at Government House and socialising at the Tingel Tangel dance hall. There were rickshaw strikes, sightings of a sea serpent in the Singapore harbour, Sunday morning horse rides around the Settlement and tigers causing havoc in Chinatown. From the death of Queen Victoria and the coronation of King Edward to the decision by Straits-born Chinese to discard their towchang (queues), we come to understand how historical events shaped and affected the society of the day. Indiscreet Memories is one man's true account of life in Singapore as it was over a hundred years ago.