About the Author

Sue Paul has retired after many years as a senior project manager in the IT industry. She is an experienced amateur genealogist, who discovered Captain Thomas Bowrey whilst researching her one-name study. She lives in Cambridgeshire with her husband.

Reviews

Bowrey stayed in Asia for the next two decades, gradually becoming a successful independent trader, running goods between India and various parts of Southeast Asia. He returned to London, married, and promptly set himself up in business. Bowrey's main claim to fame is not, however, his business ventures but rather the English-Malay dictionary he published in 1701, that and the fact he apparently made the first English-language reference to the recreational use of cannabis.--Asian Review Of Books

This is a fascinating biography, a joy to read ... Having read Sue Paul's absorbing biography with much interest, perhaps there should be a memorial to Thomas Bowrey to celebrate his life and to acknowledge his contribution to our understanding of the Malay language.--Professor Victor T. King "Borneo Research Bulletin "

This is the first full biography of Thomas Bowery and with its carefully chosen use of source material and interesting background details sheds new light on a largely forgotten life.--Family Tree magazine, UK