Anna and the King — How True Is the Story?

A 1944 book, Anna and the King of Siam, gave rise to the stage and movie musical, The King and I, and then to the 1999 movie, Anna and the King. The story is based on the six years that Anna Leonowens, a widow who traveled to Siam (now Thailand) to tutor the many children of King Mongkut. She wrote her own story in two volumes in the 1870s. How much of her story and the story in these later versions is historical, and how much fiction? Learn more:

• Anna and the King - True Story?
• About Anna Leonowens

_{Virginia McKenna in 1979 London Palladium production of The King and I
Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images}