I'm trying to track down info on the late Jack Reynolds and his 1956 novel A Woman of Bangkok. I inherited a later edition of AWOB when I rented a house in Thonburi in 1977 and the book was left behind by the former occupant. Unfortunately I lent it to someone else and it was never returned, and since the book is now out of print it's tough to find.

Just wondering whether anyone out there had any background info on Reynolds himself. I've heard he worked for the Bangkok Post for some time, and was an amublance driver in China during WWII.

One thing I remember from the copy I had is that the original 1956 title was something other than Woman of Bangkok, which seems to have been a title slapped on it later. Also I seem to recall he first published under a pen name, Jack Jones.

Any info much appreciated.

I have a copy of the novel , IMO the best read I have found about Thailand in any era. Unfortunately I have no other info , unless google can offer anything.
I have some literature mad friends , all of whom have not heard of Reynolds apart from his association with this book. All of them were suprised by the quality of his work though. I "found" the book in a guesthouse in Sumatra of all places. I looked in various book stores to no avail. My copy is fairly battered , published by DK book house ( Duang Kamol) ISBN 974 2103 976.
Its the 1985 version. Pretty sure it was only released in SEA.
Sorry for any lack of info , if you ever get to the UK you can borrow it!

Chonabot

Thanks, Chonabot. Since my initial post, I've found and purchased a first edition of the book, in hard cover, in its original title, A Sort of Beauty, dated 1956, published in the UK and credited to Jack Jones. Later that same year it appeared in the USA with the title A Woman of Bangkok, by Jack Reynolds. There was another edition in 1960 and three more between that point and 1992, which as far as I can tell was the last time it was printed. The last three printings, I believe, were all issued in Thailand. The version I first read in Thonburi must have been a late 60s DK printing.

Interesting that a book admired by so many is so hard to find ...

Excellent , I may have a look for the hardback in that case , cheers!

you guys have now got the rest of us local lit freaks drooling...any chance of an ISBN number to order the last edition from a catalog from the likes of Asia Books, etc.?

Tutsi, Asia Books don't have it since they don't deal in out of print books and this one's been long out of print. Amazon.com has it listed as a used book they can obtain. They'll accept a pre-order online, just state a maximum amount you'll pay. They state the average used copy goes for around US$16, but you might want to list a slightly higher max, say US$20, assuming you're willing to spend that much.

Or try alibris.com, that's where I found a copy. Amazon's cheaper if all you care about is getting a readable copy.

ISBN 974 2103 976
THere ya go Tutsi , thats from DK books.

I suspect that Jack Reynolds is a pseudonym for a famous writer, since the book conveys such intimate knowledge of a prostitute's lifestyle. After all the book was published in the 50s when the West was a lot more prudish about such matters.

Also, "Woman of Bangkok" is such a tour de force - and Reynolds evidently such a gifted writer - yet he only wrote one book! This seems suspicious to me.

As for your question, about five years ago Bernard Trink reported spotting the woman who inspired the "White Leopard" playing pool on Suk. Soi 4. Very old, but still alive then. Maybe Mr. Trink knows something.

I did a google on Jack Reynolds Author. Not much but there does seem to be a few books by him at Amazon.com

There was another thread about this about 18 months ago, which prompted me to order an ooooold used hardback copy, under its alternate title, "A Sort of Beauty". It came from Australia and the author is Jack Reynolds.

(Still haven't read it though!)

Funny though there's a nice large photo of the author on the back of my copy and a little bio.

Guess I'll have to break down and take the plastic wrap off it.

That would be interesting to track down some info on the author.

In another thread, someone said that Trink knew the woman on which the female protagonist was based. Think he might have known Reynolds too? OK so who is going to find Trink and ask him?

Could be like solving a mystery here, interesting.

you guys got me so interested now

A definitive novel, superbly crafted.

There is some more information about Emrys Jones, alias Jack Reynolds, on Andrew Hicks' thaigirl blog.

Not sure if the link is allowed, it is http://www.thaigirl2004.blogspot.com/ mods can delete it if not allowed.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Mike

5 years later! Better late than never....

Can the OP tell us if they ever found what they were looking for?

There's no time like the present!

I guess because Jack Reynolds is still a bit of a mystery he's continuing to intrigue people, me included.

After "A Woman of Bangkok" was last published in 1985 in Thailand he disappears from public view. Somebody knows what happened to him and his family and I hope that the article on my blog mentioned above will unearth some information.

Andrew Hicks

sabaijai is a mod here on TV and the OP. Send him a PM to alert him to this thread. He can update us on any info he gathered.

I read a borrowed and dog-eared copy of that book about 15 years ago .. was never able to find a copy. Once when I mentioned it to an old time expat (long passed and frequenter of a certain bar stool at Madrid) in BKK, he told me that the book was based on fact and he had know the people involved. After living here for more than a decade, and seeing how westerners react to Thai women, it is easily believable.

I am sure that I read this book 20 years ago but I thought the name of it was "Bangkok Woman". It truly was a great insight into how a Thai woman could drive a poor English drug salesman crazy enough to break into his company headquarters to steal for her. I have never read such insight into a Thai woman before.

Having lived in Thailand for 26 years in 9 provinces I have never been so lucky to find such a woman. This might account for me being sane. I know one American who found such a woman but she did not compare to the white leapord. I am still looking!

done

The best of the genre by far. Funnily enough I like the OP lent my copy to someone never to see it again. You used to be able to find second hand copies in the traveller bookshops around Khao San. Dunno know about now.

I've found more info, but not much. Going through Bangkok Post archives I've come across many articles with his byline from the 60s and 70s and a few old hands at the Post say they remember him. I didn't ask whether 'Jack Reynolds' was a pseudonym, but as no one mentioned it I assume he was known by that name at the Post (speculation). One of the funniest Post stories that I came across was a long April Fools' article. I forget the theme now but it was so cleverly written that many readers at the time were taken in, as the Postbag from the following days made clear.

A year ago I met a Thai woman who says she is the niece of Reynolds' widow, who is still alive or at least she was at that time. She has promised to introduce me but I haven't got round to it yet.

Andrew, did this topic inspire your sub on stick?

To hear your tale, it must be a depressing book.
I just can't be bothered to read (bar)girl-done-me-wrong stories anymore.

The reason you might want to read it is because it is the first bar-girl-done-me-wrong novel. By many years(mid '50's).

Also, Andrew's opinion is only one man's.

Big thanks for all this, Sabaijai.

He was born Emrys Reynolds Jones and that is the name shown in the records of The Friends Ambulance Unit for whom he worked in China in the war years. Bernard Llewellyn in a travel book of 1958 (the year after AWOB came out) tells how stayed with him in Bangkok and refers to him as Jack Reynolds. So I guess he assumed this name fo all purposes and not as a means to anonymity in his written work.

I now have drafted a short life history of Jack, full of holes, based on what little I can find on the internet and I could email it to you.

Or should I post his story as a new thread on this forum??? It makes for an interesting mystery, still unresolved, as publicly the man totally disappears from view in the eighties.

Finally, could I pester you with a few specfic qestions?

Can you put me in touch with or name any of the Bangkok Post colleagues you mention who knew him?

Can you help me with accessing the Bangkok Post's archives? I have no idea how to do this or how difficult it is, but if you have already done the research... I'm told there is an obituary too.

Would it be appropriate for me to be put in touch with his widow or any of his family?

They might of course find it strange to be approached out of the blue. I am simply intrigued by the man as I knew his close friend Bernard Llewellyn. Bernard had a nice obituary in The Guardian last year but the collective memory is going to forget Jack Reynolds. If I find enough info, I'd like to post a shrot article on Wikipedia.

Andrew Hicks

PS I'm also curious to learn about Sabaijai... perhaps by PM.

I agree about 'bar girl done-me-wrong' books and I never read them.

It's just that Jack Reynolds' "Woman of Bangkok" is often lavished with praise. Being out of print, when at last I found a copy, I found it very intriguing because there's some fine writing and observation in it. It's an amazing period piece well worth reading but as you say hardly uplifting.

Having known Jack's China friend, Bernard Llewellyn, I've become intrigued to know more about Jack's life and what became of him. That's why I wrote a piece about the book and posted it on my blog and as a Readers Submission on Stickman.

The main purpose is to ask if anyone can tell me more about Jack Reynolds. His old friends are out there somewhere and know it all.

Andrew Hicks