Whenever Teresa Lim asked about a striking woman she saw in old family photos, she was told ‘That’s Aunt Fanny; she was unfortunate.’ So naturally, Teresa Lim spent years excavating Aunt Fanny’s life in 1920s Singapore. It’s a story of three devoted sisters, ghost husbands, working-class Chinese feminists, and sworn spinsters.
Turns out, Fanny was very fortunate indeed…until History arrived at her front door.
Our guest is Teresa Lim, author of The Interpreter’s Daughter.
All images courtesy of Teresa Lim unless otherwise noted.
Fanny (L) and Virtue (R), directly behind their father (seated)
photo by Terence Ong
Teresa Lim grew up in Singapore but has lived in London since 1992. She read Economics and Sociology with Anthropology at the National University of Singapore before working as a business journalist and in finance for many years. After moving to the United Kingdom, she wrote a fortnightly column on life in London for The Straits Times, Singapore. Teresa lives in South London and Devon with her husband. They have two grown-up sons.
Music featured in this episode included
The Butterfly Lovers Concerto for violin performed by Takako Nishizaki
“Medusa,” “March of the Mind,” and “Despair and Triumph” by Kevin MacLeod
“Honky Tonkin” and “Lao Tsu Erhu” by Doug Maxwell
“My Extraordinary Gal, 1932” by Gene Kardos’ Orchestra
“Rose Rose I Love You” by Yao Lie
“Thin Places” by Jesse Gallagher
Your purchases help support the podcast!
