Book Extract: Bamboo Island: The Planter’s Wife By Ann Bennett

It’s so wonderful to be welcoming Ann Bennett and the Book Birthday Blitz for her book, Bamboo Island: The Planter’s Wife.

From award-winning author Ann Bennett comes a haunting and powerful novel of love and loss during World War 2 Malaya.

‘A vivid account of a brutal period, and a searing exploration of trauma, memory and loss..’ The Lady Magazine.

1938: Juliet and her sister Rose arrive in Penang to stay with an aunt, after the death of their father. Juliet quickly falls under the spell of Gavin Crosby, a plantation owner, who despite his wealth, charm and good looks is shunned by the local community. Rushed into marriage, Juliet is unprepared for the devastating secrets she uncovers on Gavin’s plantation, and the bad blood between Gavin and his brother…

But in 1941 the Japanese occupy Malaya and Singapore sweeping away that world and changing Juliet’s life forever.

For decades after the war which robbed her of everyone she loved, Juliet lives as a recluse back on the plantation. But in 1962 the sudden appearance of Mary, a young woman from an orphanage in Indonesia, forces Juliet to embark on a journey into the past, and to face up to the heart-breaking truths she’s buried for so long.

This book has previously been published both as The Planter’s Wife and as Bamboo Island

Praise for Bamboo Island: The Planter’s Wife..

‘This was a story of love, passion and cruelty I could not put down … I needed to discover Juliet’s secrets.’ Lizeanne Lloyd – Lost in a Good Book

‘I raced through this book in just over twenty-four hours … I literally could not put it down. I connected and sympathised with Juliet as a character so much… and I was constantly on edge whilst reading it, desperate to find out more about her past.’ Bibliobeth – Goodreads.

‘I really loved this haunting, powerful and beautiful novel.’ Amazon Reviewer.

To celebrate its birthday, Ann has shared an extract from Bamboo Island: The Planter’s Wife. We hope you enjoy. 

*****beginning of extract*****

Bamboo Island: The Planter’s Wife

Chapter 1

Windy Ridge Estate, Malaya, 1962

The big white house dominated the crest of the hill and looked out over the lines of rubber trees to the jungle beyond. It was quite alone, miles from any neighbours, and hardly any traffic ever ventured along the rutted dirt road that ran the five miles between the estate and the nearest settlement, Kuala Lipis. It had been a proud, grand building in the years before the war, its paintwork startling white against the blue of the tropical sky, but now the walls were scabbed and peeling and there were a few gaping holes in the roof where the tiles had blown off during the high monsoon winds.

The deep veranda running the length of the ground floor was shaded with bamboo chicks, which were rolled up near the front door so that Juliet Crosby, relaxing in her deep rattan chair, had a view of the faint breeze playing in the rubber trees. She watched it ruffling the leaves, turning them from green to grey and back again.

She always sat here at this time of day, before the sun had begun its descent behind the jungle-covered horizon, and the cicadas were still chattering in the casuarina trees in the garden. This was the best hour of her unwavering routine. She liked to sit with her afternoon tea tray on the little cane table, her two Dalmatians lazing on the boards of the veranda beside her, and take deep breaths to empty her mind of everything but the mundane business of running the estate, banishing any other thoughts that might trouble her. She loved the sharp light of the early evening. It was as if the sun was burning with renewed intensity before it dipped away.

Today was a day like any other. It had begun before dawn for Juliet, with her routine tour of the estate. As usual she had walked through the trees at first light, the dogs at her heels, to the tappers lines. She knew all the workers on the estate and chatted to them in fluent Malay as she took the roll call, made sure that all was running smoothly and that everyone knew their tasks for the day. She then checked on the workers in the production sheds, assessing the stocks of latex, making sure the machines and presses were running properly. As usual she’d walked out through the lines of trees to check that the maintenance gangs were at work, weeding between the trees, digging ditches for drainage. And like any other working day it had ended like this.

She had grown to enjoy the comfortable rhythm to her life, this pleasing, safe routine that she had been following for twenty-odd years. She rarely saw anyone other than the rubber workers. There was no need. Very occasionally she would take the old Morris from the stable behind the house and drive the bumpy road into Kuala Lipis to visit the few friends who had outlived the war and the Malayan Emergency. They would play a rubber of bridge or two in the decaying building that housed the club, or go for a drink at the bar in the Government Guest House. There were still a couple of survivors from the old days living in Kuala Lumpur, too, and once or twice a year she would take the train down for a short visit. Juliet was always glad to get back to the estate, though, and the comfort of her quiet, reclusive routine.

The old house was rather shabby now it was true, but business was not what it had been, and the estate only just made enough to pay the workers and turn in a tiny profit. There was no money to pay for repairs, but after all what did it matter? It was only her living here now. And after she was gone there would be no-one. It was not like the war years when rubber had been booming and money had rolled in effortlessly. Of course, Juliet hadn’t been managing the estate then. She had had nothing to do with it. No, it had been down to her husband to run things then. She felt her fingers tightening around the arms of the chair, nails digging into the wood, and her breath quickening at the mere thought of him. Uninvited, an image of him swam into her mind: an image of her first encounter with him that very first evening at the Penang Club. How he had leaned casually at the bar, toying with his glass, watching her, and when he had crossed the room to ask her to dance, her cheeks had burned with anxiety and pleasure. Juliet stopped and checked herself. Sweat was standing in little beads on her brow.

The dogs sensed something before she did. One moment they were lounging on the floor, the next sitting bolt upright, ears pricked, poised for attack.

‘What’s the matter? Caesar? Cleo?’ Juliet sat forward in her chair. She had a dread of unexpected callers. She peered towards the gate beyond the expanse of lawn, just where the garden ended and the rubber trees began. There was nothing there, but both her dogs were on their feet now, whining, wagging their tails.

‘Sit down!’ she commanded, and they obeyed instantly.

Juliet quickly went inside and fetched her leather binoculars from the hall stand. She leaned over the rail and trained them on the drive. She could see nothing. Just the palms waving in the breeze, and the heat haze hovering above the empty drive. She sighed and was about to put them away when there was a movement, and through the glasses she caught sight of a figure moving at the limits of her vision. She peered more closely. A lone figure was moving towards the house, short and slight and carrying a heavy load.

She put down the binoculars, afraid of getting caught snooping, and clung to the railings, confused. Then, beginning to panic, she went inside and closed the front door. She stood behind it, her fists clenching and unclenching, her eyes closed, breathing heavily, wondering what to do. She never had visitors. Who could it be?

*****end of extract*****

About Ann Bennett  –

Ann Bennett is a British author of historical fiction. Her first book, Bamboo Heart: A Daughter’s Quest, was inspired by researching her father’s experience as a prisoner of war on the Thai-Burma Railway and by her own journey to uncover his story. It won the Asian Books Blog prize for fiction published in Asia in 2015, and was shortlisted for the best fiction title in the Singapore Book Awards 2016.

That initial inspiration led her to write more books about WWII in Southeast Asia – Bamboo Island: The Planter’s Wife, A Daughter’s Promise, Bamboo Road: The Homecoming, The Tea Planter’s Club and The Amulet. Along with The Lotus House, published in October 2024, they make up the Echoes of Empire Collection. A further collection, Tales of Kathmandu, includes The Fortune Teller of Kathmandu and The Bookseller of Kathmandu, published in September 2025.

Ann is also the author of The Oriental Lake Collection – The Lake Pavilion and The Lake Palace, both set in British India during the 1930s and WWII, and The Lake Pagoda and The Lake Villa, set in French Indochina.

The Runaway Sisters, USA Today bestselling The Orphan House, The Child Without a Home and The Forgotten Children are set in Europe during the same era and are published by Bookouture. The Stolen Sisters, published on 29th November 2024 is the follow-up to The Orphan List and is set in Poland and Germany during WWII. Her latest book, Once We Were Sisters was published in February 2026.

A former lawyer, Ann is married with three grown up sons and a granddaughter and lives in Surrey, UK. For more details, please visit her website www.annbennettauthor.co.uk.

You can also connect with Ann on Facebook, X and Instagram.

Click to buy on Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes & Noble and Waterstones. 

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