Prisna Vol 1

About the Author

Princess Vibhavadi Rangsit nee Princess Vibhavadi Rajani is a Thai writer and a member of the Thai royal family well known for her fiction writing and her developmental work in rural Thailand. Princess Vibhavadi Rangsit was born on 20 November 1920. She is the eldest daughter of Rajani Chamcharas, Prince Bidyalongkorn and Princess Phonphimonphan Rajani (nee Princess Phimonphan Voravan). The princess was educated at the Mater Dei School, Bangkok. After completing her secondary education, she worked as a secretary for her father, who at the time was one of the most respected poets of the Rattanakosin era and wrote under the pseudonym No. Mo. So. (NMS). Princess Vibhavadi inherited her father's gift for writing and displayed her ability as early as age of fourteen, when she began writing children's novels. She was well known by her pen-name V. na Pramuanmarg (Wo Na Pramuanmak). Her famous first novel, Prisna (Pritsana), was written when she was eighteen and was followed by two sequels and many other novels, some of them historical. In addition to a full writing career, the princess worked for King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit of Thailand. In 1957, she began accompanying them when they toured the country and was appointed a lady-in-waiting to the queen when they went on their first state visit abroad in 1960. Princess Vibhavadi accompanied them on seven occasions, visiting twenty-five countries. The last ten years of her life were dedicated to rural development in southern Thailand under the direction and sponsorship of the king. Her involvement began when the monarch asked her to go to a remote area called Phrasaeng in Surat Thani Province. From that initial visit in 1967, she was committed to the development of neglected areas and the improvement of the villagers' living standards. Sponsored by the king, she led a medical team on many missions to distribute medical supplies, schooling equipment, blankets, and other necessities to villagers in remote and almost inaccessible parts of the South. She was killed by communist insurgents while on a routine visit to assist rural villagers in Surat Thani Province on 16 February 1977. The translator, Tulachandra, is the pen name of the late mother of a former Thai Foreign Minister, who translated the work as a favour to the Princess. Tulachandra was well-known for having translated many Thai Classics into English.