Jack Reynolds/woman Of Bangkok

[F1fanatic]

sabaijai is a mod here on TV and the OP. Send him a PM to alert him to this thread.

done

Thanks. Sabaijai has now contacted me.

Incidentally Dasa second hand bookshop on Sukhumvit (a few minutes walk out of town on the right from BTS Phrom Pong) has a used copy of the DK edition of "A Woman of Bangkok" just come in.

I now have an image of Jack Reynolds' grave stone (1913 to 1984) and am hoping to hear from a couple of people who knew him so it's slowly coming together.

One person knows a lot about Reynolds who has posted on a forum as 'Megapoint' and is based in Hong Kong but I cannot discover how to contact him. Anyone know him??!

Andrew

Hello Andrew

Appreciate your passing on the note as to the availability of the Jack Reynold's novel, 'A woman of Bangkok' , which I was able to purchase !

Looks like a great read especially as its often held as the 'Holy Grail' of novels that gave shape to expat crime fiction

I believe you should go ahead with the proposed story amounting to the 'life and times of Jack Reynolds', probably a great piece on at least two fronts, presenting both some insights to this man of mystery aswell as probably interesting nostalgia for this genre . . .

I'm sure other readers are interested in your project, Andrew, could you share a bit more about it through these pages . .

The Hongkonger

Have to agree. Its a great idea to write a book about someone you've never met or known.

Historical reviews are one thing, but let's be honest - Jack Reynolds wrote a great book about his experiences - his views about the locals is not life-changing or interesting to anyone who doesn't live here.

[hongkonger]

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.?

Hello tutsiwarrior ! Were you ever able to get the book via Asia Books - just curious - what was your experience?

[Andrew Hicks]

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.?

Hello tutsiwarrior ! Were you ever able to get the book via Asia Books - just curious - what was your experience?

'A Sort of Beauty', later called 'A Woman of Bangkok' by 'Jack Reynolds' has been out of print since the eighties so it is not available in Asia Books or any other book shop. Second hand copies do not often appear but can be found on the internet. Which is very sad as it's a remarkable period piece which still paints a very contemporary picture of Thailand.

I am busy discovering the life of its author who was an unusual man and had an extraordinary life. A published poet and a speedway rider in England, he did many years humanitarian relief work in China with the Friends Ambulance Unit. He then settled in Bangkok working for Unicef and raised a family of seven children. He kept writing but never had another big seller and died in 1984.

I have so much material on him that a book of extracts from his various works and a biography ought to result. I'll be very sad if they don't but there's already lots about him on my blog.

Andrew Hicks

[boblunch]

Monsoon Books of Singapore sells a reprint of it.

www.monsoonbooks.com.sg

It's a new book, in their 2010 catalog.

[hongkonger]

Monsoon Books of Singapore sells a reprint of it.

www.monsoonbooks.com.sg

It's a new book, in their 2010 catalog.

Hello Boblunch,

Thanks for the tipoff! Awesome that monsoon books have decieded to reprint such an iconic book, suprising I didnt notice it myself, as I often travel through Spore !

Cheers - hongkonger

[hongkonger]

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.

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

The big news is that Jack's widow is still alive and that contact will be made with her.

One more question for you.

Jack Reynolds had a book of stories published in Bangkok in 1972 called, "The Utter Shambles".

There is a copy in the library of Cornell Unversity but none in the major Bangkok libraries and I cannot find one anywhere.

Has anyone got a copy of "The Utter Shambles"?

I have written a life of Jack and hope to publish this as a book together with a selection of his writings and articles. Not a big seller but still great Bangkok nostalgia.

Thanks,

Andrew Hicks

Hello Andrew - This is awesome of course- do you have a date set for publishing or otherwise sharing snippets with like minded enthusiasts - we're interested to know . . .

The Hongkonger

[Andrew Hicks]

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.

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

The big news is that Jack's widow is still alive and that contact will be made with her.

One more question for you.

Jack Reynolds had a book of stories published in Bangkok in 1972 called, "The Utter Shambles".

There is a copy in the library of Cornell Unversity but none in the major Bangkok libraries and I cannot find one anywhere.

Has anyone got a copy of "The Utter Shambles"?

I have written a life of Jack and hope to publish this as a book together with a selection of his writings and articles. Not a big seller but still great Bangkok nostalgia.

Thanks,

Andrew Hicks

Hello Andrew - This is awesome of course- do you have a date set for publishing or otherwise sharing snippets with like minded enthusiasts - we're interested to know . . .

The Hongkonger

Thanks Hongkonger,

As to the reissue of Jack Reynolds' seminal novel, "A Woman of Bangkok", sadl there are some difficult copyright isues that have to be resolved first.

But I am working hard on reearching more about his life and a biography and/or a book of his collected writings are on the cards. It's a huge amount of work though.

I am trying to trace his father's origins in Llangollen, North Wales and was there a week or two back looking for the cottage at Worlds End that Jack worked from as a walking tour guide in the late thities.

I'm also in touch with his primary school in Buntingford, Hertfordshire where his father was a Congregational minster and I have had photos published in the local paper appealing for info. So far no response.

Most of all I'm intrigued by the work he did from 1946 to 1951 in West China with the Friends Ambulance Unit. These men did heroic work in appalling conditions transporting medical supplies and running clinics in the late war years and as the communists arrived. Jack died in 1981 but I'm in touch with no fewer than five men who were there in Chungking with him. So may survivors from so long ago.

I've obtained hundreds of pages of documents from the Friends Library archives both in London and Philadelphia consisting of reports Jack wrote back to HQ and his creative writing for the Friends Newsletter. He was captured by bandits and beaten with the flat of a sword. He rolled a truck and survived this and a serious attack of scrub typhus that killed other men. It's better than any novel and there's so much of it.

It's all amazing stuff and it tells me so much about this extraordinary time and a very remarkable man.

After China Jack settled in Bangkok, working for Unicef and then for the UN in many other developing countries, interspersed with journalism and editing work back hme in Bangkok. He left a lot of published writings behind but it is all lost and forgotten. I'm now trying to find it all.

In Thailand his work was in the back of beyond bringing basic medecine to the villages. His diaries give a picture of life in Isaan at that time and one of his stories is how when his jeep broke a spring somewhere out in Sisaket he stumbled upon a woman dying in childbirth and used his medical skills to save her life while al the men glowered.

Collecting all this stuff together with photo images could make a wonderful book.

There are just so many leads to follow up though. For example, one I despair of is his UN eployment records. Where are they and how to crack them? I've failed so far.

There's another one that should be easier. In the late thirties Jack was something of a speedway ace in England, riding for the Leabridge and Clapton teams. (His folks lived in Walthamstow, north London.)

Jack claims in a Bangkok Post article that an item in Speedway News (late thirties) by Arthur Westwood described him, Jack, as the only speedway rider whose father was a parson and who had had a poem published in "The Listener".

Fascinating! So can anyone find any speedway records that refer to Jack or suggest how I might find them? Or eve trace the Speedway News article. The internet has failed me so far.

Incidentally, "Jack Reynolds" is a pseudonym. His real name was Emrys Reynolds Jones and he went by the name of 'Jack' Jones.

So the hunt is on! Can anyone do better finding him on biker internet sites than I did?

I do hope so!

Andrew Hicks

[hongkonger]

Hello Andrew

This is awesome and your enthusiasm for this project is definately catching

By the way - I noted that the National Library in Sigapore has a copy of the Jack Jones book you mentioned called the Utter Shambles, here are some of the details I learned from the SG NL site about it :

The book is part of the Repository Used Book Collection, Location RSEA, Call No 828.99593REY, has a Reference only status which implies it cant be taken off site.

Published by Siam Communications in 1972, Author is Jones, Jack, 1913-1984, 125 pgs

Contains 3 short stories : The last straw.--Out of the strong.--Ring out the old.

I dont have any visits planned to Singapore but hope you find this info interesting as at this rate this particular book could be an even more rare find than 'AWOB !'

Any further notes from anyone out there on this topic would also be welcome !

Cheers - Hongkonger

[Andrew Hicks]

Hello Andrew

This is awesome and your enthusiasm for this project is definately catching

By the way - I noted that the National Library in Sigapore has a copy of the Jack Jones book you mentioned called the Utter Shambles, here are some of the details I learned from the SG NL site about it :

The book is part of the Repository Used Book Collection, Location RSEA, Call No 828.99593REY, has a Reference only status which implies it cant be taken off site.

Published by Siam Communications in 1972, Author is Jones, Jack, 1913-1984, 125 pgs

Contains 3 short stories : The last straw.--Out of the strong.--Ring out the old.

I dont have any visits planned to Singapore but hope you find this info interesting as at this rate this particular book could be an even more rare find than 'AWOB !'

Any further notes from anyone out there on this topic would also be welcome !

Cheers - Hongkonger

Thanks for this. Amazing that a copy of 'The Utter Shambles' has surfaced in Singapore. A friend in the US traced several copies in libraries there but was not too impressed when he read it.

I have a copy inscribed by Jack to his old China friend, Bernard Llewellyn, also a published author and a founder of Oxfam's development work. It is dated 1976 and says, "Bernard, Three bits and pieces from a major work that may never get any further. Jack." It didn't!

It was written by Jack in what he called his anecdotage and has lost the zing of his earlier book.

Again, can anyone find any speedway records that refer to him? (See above.)

Andrew

[zzdocxx]

Nice thread, thanks.

[Liam Sathorn]

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.

Sawasdi, K. Klikster,

I ran across your post recently and thought I would send a note, though I suppose chances are slim that you would check this thread again.

I also spoke with K. J--- in Madrid about the real "Leopard" and he said he knew her and that it might be insteresting to look her up.

I was sorry when he passed on, but there are still quite a few old spooks and narcs at Madrid and Crown Royal.

Note: I used to play piano at Napolean in the old days, and get free drinks from Udom. That was also quite the spooky venue.

Also spent a lot of time with Rick Menard and Fr. Joe Maier at Grand Prix. Those were the days.

I would go into detail about Randy and Goldfinger's and Ian and Sam and the twins at Super Star, but well ... another time.

I also visit Teak Door and try to maintain contact with Davis Knowlton and other people of various rank and stability.

Perhaps we should stay in touch.

Chok di, Krahp,

Liam

[Ulysses G.]

I read it when it was not so revered and thought that it was OK, but always prefered Memoirs of a Bangkok Warrior by Dean Barrett which is probably still in print and the writer is still living in Bangkok and still writing.

[sabaijai]

A Woman of Bangkok has been reissued by Monsoon Books.

http://www.amazon.com/Woman-Bangkok-Jack-Reynolds/dp/9810854307/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327311700&sr=1-2

[Andrew Hicks]

I remember that on this thread there was a long discussion about Jack Reynolds' classic novel of 1956, "A Woman of Bangkok" on which I had to scotch rumours that Monsoon Books had re-issued it.

The news is now that Monsoon have had it back in print for some months and also as an ebook.

I have just re-read it and it is as a portrait of a wallet munching lady of the night sharp and memorable as my first time... the first time I read it, that is.

A period piece that is as on target as the day it was written.

Andrew Hicks

[MAJIC]

Woman of Bangkok,Book

Try this Amazon link,its still in print,2012 Edition £7-99.

Or there's a 1959 Edition @ £49.99,Original Collectors Edition no doubt

http://www.amazon.co...tripbooks%2C290

Edited April 4, 2012 by MAJIC

[johna]

[sabaijai]

Ah yes the original, under it's original title A Sort of Beauty.

Unfortunately Amazon no longer ships print books to Thailand (addressed to members residing in Thailand).

http://www.amazon.co...537734

However there is a Kindle edition available, which can be downloaded anywhere.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Woman-of-Bangkok-ebook/dp/B007NLD41G/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1333601076&sr=1-1

[kerryk]

Ah yes the original, under it's original title A Sort of Beauty.

Unfortunately Amazon no longer ships print books to Thailand (addressed to members residing in Thailand).

http://www.amazon.co...537734

However there is a Kindle edition available, which can be downloaded anywhere.

http://www.amazon.co...33601076&sr=1-1

Why does not Amazon ship books to Thailand?