Rose Gan has that unique gift for fusing meticulous research with vivid storytelling and beautiful prose to bring the past to life. She takes us on a walk through the bustling and dusty streets of Georgetown, sits us down for a cool drink on shady verandah in Calcutta and invites us to join a dance with dark-eyed beauties, clad in kebaya, in early 19th-century Batavia. This was a time when diverse peoples – the Malays, Chinese, Bugis, Javanese, Dutch, British, and Tamils – navigated an era rife with ambition, intrigue, colonial arrogance and war. Amongst the soldiers, swindlers and scandals stood people such as Captain Francis Light, adventurer and statesman and founder of modern-day Penang. Her series is centered about his life and are an excellent gateway to rediscover the vibrant and tumultuous days of “old Penang’ and Maritime Southeast Asia. Legacy is the final of this series, with focus on William Light, his son and founder of Adelaide. It is an absolute pleasure to read.