Falcon at the Court of Siam

A True Account of One of the Most Thrilling Periods in Thai History


Set toward the end of the seventeenth century, Falcon at the Court of Siam recounts the true story of Constantine Phaulkon, a Greek of low birth who spectacularly rose to fame, and infamy, as King Narai's favourite courtier - in effect, if not in name, First Minister of Siam. No other foreigner, before or since, has ever held such a position of power and influence in Siam.


Fleeing from his home on Cephalonia at the age of 11, the Greek became a seaman on English merchant ships for the next twenty years, and then enjoyed a meteoric rise to power in Siam - all the time walking a political tightrope between ill-fated wooing of English and then French allies, and his attempts to outwit dangerous enemies at the Siamese Court who were inflamed by jealously and anger at his arrogance and ambition.


Against a backdrop of pageantry and peril, Phauklon pursued a destiny of greatness that he believed was his. Was he a man who would become king? A loyal servant to King Narai? Or simply an arrogant, conniving foreigner bent on his own material gain?


Told in narrative and in a fictionalized journal, this historically accurate novel captures the remarkable character of Phauklon and the exceptional times in which he lived.