Raffles: And The Golden Opportunity

Thomas Stamford Raffles was the charismatic founder of Singapore and Governor of Java. An English adventurer, zoologist and civil servant, he carved an extraordinary life for himself in South East Asia. After a turbulent time in the East Indies, Raffles returned to the UK and founded London Zoo in 1826, the year of his death. Victoria Glendinning charts his prodigious rise within the social and historical contexts of his world.