Legacy is now available. Check release dates in your region below!
〰️
Legacy is now available. Check release dates in your region below! 〰️
Available U. K: September 2025
Available SE Asia and Australia: October 2025
Available US: November 2025
Asian Civilisations Museum, Friends of the Museum Monday Morning Lecture series
Advance Notice:
Rose Gan: Lecture Presentation at ACM
Date: Monday April 27, 2026
Time: 11 am- 12.30
Theme: ‘A Straits Eurasian Family, or how the children of Francis Light and Martinha Rozells survived patronage, privilege and prejudice in 19th century society.’
This event is open to the public. A registration link will be provided nearer the time.
History Festival of South Australia May 7, 2026 sponsored by Friends of the State Library
‘ In A Different Light: The Incredible Life Story of William Light’
A Lecture by Rose Gan, author of Penang Chronicles
Date: Thursday May 7th 2026 at 5pm - 6.30 pm
Venue: Hertzel Lecture Theatre, State Library of South Australia, Adelaide
This event is free but advance booking is required. (Booking link above)
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The family of Francis Light faces an uncertain future. As Penang heads inexorably towards colonial rule, Martinha struggles to claim her rightful inheritance, encountering corruption, prejudice and heartbreak in equal measure. Scattered across the world, her children are forced to negotiate the British establishment alone as best they can with little but their father’s name and reputation to sustain them. From Britain to the Peninsular War, from the social pretensions of Bengal to the court of the Pasha of Egypt, from Java in the company of Raffles to the new city of Adelaide in Australia, the next generation makes its way, its roots firmly planted in the beautiful island of its home.
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Collis, Maurice (Reprint1982) Raffles: The Definitive Biograph (1965)y. Graham Brash, Singapore
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Langdon, Marcus, (2013) Penang the Fourth Presidency of India 1805-30: Volume I Ships, Men and Mansions, Areca Books, Penang
Langdon, Marcus, (2015) Penang the Fourth Presidency of India 1805-30: Volume II Fire, Spice and Edifice, Areca Books, Penang
Langdon, Marcus, (2021) Penang the Fourth Presidency of India 1805-30: Volume III Water, Wigs and Wisdom, Areca Books, Penang
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Lawrence, James Henry (1810) A Picture of Verdun or the English Detained in France…from the portfolio of a Détenu. T. Hookham Junior and E.T. Hookham. London
Miller, W.G. (2020 British Traders in the East Indies (1770-1820): At Home in the Eastern Seas. (Volume 9 Worlds of the East India Company) Boydell Press
Mayo, M. P. The Life and Letters of Col. William Light, 1937, F.W. Preece and Sons, Adelaide
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Articles
Andaya, B. (2012). 'A People that Range into all the Kingdoms of Asia' 1: the Chulia trading Network in the Malay World in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. In The Trading World of the Indian Ocean, 1500-1800, Ed. Om Prakash. New Delhi: Pearson Education, 2012, Pp. 305-336.
BASTIN, J. (1953). PALEMBANG IN 1811 AND 1812. (PART I and II). Bijdragen Tot de Taal-, Land- En Volkenkunde, 109(4)
Bastin, C., & Bastin, J. (1964). Some Old Penang Tombstones. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 37(1 (205)), 126–165.
Miller., W.G (2020) British Traders in the East Indies 1770-1820. (Ed Bowen, H.V)Volume 19 At Home In the Eastern Seas(Worlds of the East India Company), Boydell Press
Fenner, Dr C, Tregenza, Dr J, Thebarton Cottage: The Home of Col William Light and the controversies surrounding it. Royal Geographical Nicety of S. Australia V. XXVIIII, 1928
Garnier, K. (1923). Early Days In Penang. Journal of the Malayan Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1(1 (87)), 5–12.
Herivel, Jan-Maree, (2020) ‘A Perfect Malay’ James Scott, East Indies Country Trader, PhD thesis Charles Darwin University
Smith, F. Andrew James Carnegy and the ‘Country Trade’ in Penang c1802-1824, Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society Vol 96 Part 1 June 2023
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http://www.clanhunter.com/Hunter_of_Burnside_genealogy.html
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Miscellaneous
https://the-past.com/feature/the-darker-side-of-victory-wellingtons-medical-service-at-waterloo/
https://www.britishbattles.com/peninsular-war/storming-of-badajoz/
Behind the Scenes of Legacy:
Legacy Book Events 2026
Kinokuniya Books, KLCC Suria January 10th 2026
We had a wonderful afternoon at Kinokuniya to launch Legacy and discuss The Penang Chronicles series. It was definitely a family affair with my daughter Zoe Gan-Rankin as moderator and grandson Esben as photographer. Many thanks to Kinokuniya for allocating such an excellent location - apart from those who had come for the session, so many other book lovers stopped to join us. A very special occasion for all.
What an audience! Thanks for your participation.
Special thanks to the wonderful staff who made it all possible!
Legacy -Book Events 2025
George Town Literary Festival November 28-30 2025
Chatting with the lovely book club ladies from the Singapore-Irish Group. See you soon in Singapore!
What a wonderful weekend we spent in Penang! The Festival was absolutely buzzing with wonderful events. We met so many talented authors and performers. It really was a feast with something for everyone. Many thanks to all those involved behind the scenes and presenting events and talks. It was a triumph!
Many thanks to the lovely Dr Beh May Ting who moderated my session. Great questions and thoughtful observations. I really appreciate your support!
And a very big thank you to the audience members who came and shared their thoughts with us!
I had the privilege of meeting up with the lady without whom GTLF would not exist, Ooi Geok Ling!
Muzium Negara, Kuala Lumpur
November 20 2025
Many thanks to the docents and friends who braved the rain to join us this morning and to the ladies from Lit Book who brought their pop up shop!
Badan Warisan Heritage Centre
1, Jalan Stonor, Kuala Lumpur
Saturday November 25 at 10.30 am
Even the ASEAN Summit and a breakdown of the MRT Putrajaya Line couldn't stop us! Thanks to all who braved the transport issues and turned up for this event. It was a lovely morning in the delightful Badan Warisan Heritage House with the help of the wonderful Vanessa and her team together with the Pansing Distribution Group who provided our pop up bookshop. Especial mention must go to the yummy kueh and curry puffs washed down with blue pea flower tea which kept us fortified, and my two handsome assistants Esben Rankin (photographer) and Séamus Rankin (publicity cards) with my moderator and daughter Zoe Gan-Rankin.
Reviews for Legacy
Elizabeth Ho OAM
Chair, History Trust of South Australia
…Rich in detail, Legacy stylishly immerses us in the time and space of the colonial era in Penang, Malaysia, its sister city Adelaide, South Australia, and a wider imperial world beyond. I have thoroughly enjoyed Rose Gan’s weaving of the fascinating Light family story into a vast tapestry of empire, faithfully portraying the depth of colonial hegemony and the complexities of identity and intercultural tension. Speaking as an Adelaidian, the imagining of the remarkable life of our gifted Eurasian city planner, Colonel William Light—from naval cadet to visionary—is particularly compelling and emotionally resonant. A wonderful read!
Herald Van Der Linde, Author
:Jakarta and Majapahit
“…Rose Gan has that unique gift for fusing meticulous research with vivid storytelling and beautiful prose to bring the past to life. She takes us on a walk through the bustling and dusty streets of Georgetown, sits us down for a cool drink on shady verandah in Calcutta and invites us to join a dance with dark-eyed beauties, clad in kebaya, in early 19th-century Batavia. This was a time when diverse peoples —the Malays, Chinese, Bugis, Javanese, Dutch, British, and Tamils—navigated an era rife with ambition, intrigue, colonial arrogance and war. Amongst the soldiers, swindlers and scandals stood people such as Captain Francis Light, adventurer and statesman and founder of modern-day Penang. Her series is centered about his life and are an excellent gateway to rediscover the vibrant and tumultuous days of “old Penang’ and Maritime Southeast Asia. "Legacy" is the final of this series, with focus on William Light, his son and founder of Adelaide. It is an absolute pleasure to read. Let’s hope Rose Gan will pick up her pen again and delve into another part of SE Asia history.”
Lee Su Kim, Author:
Kebaya Tales, Sarong Secrets, Manek Mischief
“…A fascinating, compelling read. Rose Gan takes us on a kaleidoscopic journey into the past – to the era of empires. In ‘Legacy’, we get insights into the lives of the children of Francis Light, their harrowing adventures and dramatic twists of fate, all the while facing racial prejudice because of their mixed heritage. The double-crossing, betrayals and machinations of colonial personalities including renowned figures such as Stamford Raffles reveal the challenges and pitfalls of that era. Despite the setbacks, William Light, the son of Francis Light and Martinha Rozells, achieved ultimate success in the founding of Adelaide, a similar accomplishment in the footsteps of his father. Meticulously researched, beautifully created, this book is truly a treasure.”
Marcus Langdon, Author
Penang: the Fourth Presidency of India series.
“…Rose Gan has skilfully woven a delectable concoction of fact and fiction for this fourth and final instalment in her Penang Chronicles series. Transporting the reader regionally and across the globe and back, from sweating the tropics to covert escapades in the bitter cold, Gan has yet again produced a book that is impossible to put down.”
