Most people wouldn’t have given much thought to this little historical anecdote. Tan, however, found himself strangely fascinated.

“I had no idea who Dr Sun Yat Sen was until I was very much older, but for some reason that piece of historical fact remained lodged in my memory. I thought it rather remarkable that Penang had played a role in the founding of Republican China,” said Tan, 51, in an email interview with FMT.

The story gestated in his head for a long time, and soon, influenced a story he wanted to write. And this year, after over a decade in the making, that story is finally written in the form of a novel, ‘The House of Doors’.

Tan is one of Malaysia’s preeminent literary stars, who made his debut with 2007’s ‘The Gift of Rain’, which was long-listed for the Man Booker Prize.

His second novel, ‘The Garden of Evening Mists’, won the Man Asian Literary Prize and the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction. It was made into a film starring Lee Sinje, Hiroshi Abe and John Hannah, and released in 2019.

Published by Canongate, ‘The House of Doors’ is set in 1920s British Malaya, and follows Robert Hamlyn, a well-to-do lawyer, and his wife Lesley, a society hostess.

One day, one of Robert’s friends, famed writer Willie Somerset Maugham, comes to stay with them.

Lesley and Willie’s friendship grows, but Lesley soon begins to see that there is more to Willie than she thought. At the same time, she confides secrets of her own, including her connections to Dr Sun Yat Sen, a revolutionary fighting to overthrow the imperial dynasty of China.

Things soon become complicated: how is everything connected to the case of an Englishwoman being charged with murder in the Kuala Lumpur courts?

Described as “a masterful novel of public morality and private truth”, and “a drama of love and betrayal under the shadow of Empire,” its plot draws upon real historical events.

“The events were really nothing more than footnotes in the grand pages of History, but it’s often in these footnotes where I find the most intriguing ideas. Not many novels have been written about this period, and with these characters,” said Tan.

Born in Penang, Tan studied law at the University of London, later working as an advocate and solicitor in Kuala Lumpur before becoming a full-time writer.

He currently divides his time between the UK, Cape Town in South Africa, and Kuala Lumpur.

Literary lovers have been waiting for the author’s third novel for over a decade now, which even Tan says is “too many years”.

Apart from recovering from a knee procedure that didn’t go as planned, he was also travelling the world to promote both the ‘Garden of Evening Mists’ book and film.

“The House of Doors was also delayed by the challenges of writing it. The story goes back and forth between two main time frames – 1910 and 1921 – and it grew very convoluted.”

He added that his plot contained a lot of historical information and concepts that would be alien to contemporary readers. Trying to weave all the necessary information naturally into the fabric of his novel, therefore, proved to be a literary challenge. Thankfully, however, Tan powered through, and completed the endeavour.

Recently, Tan was chosen as a judge for the 2023 Booker Prize, alongside international literary luminaries Leïla Slimani, Uilleam Blacker, Parul Sehgal and Frederick Studemann.

According to Tan, he had reservations about accepting the position. “I was keen to crack on with my next book, and the idea of having to read over 130 novels in under a year was a daunting prospect. But it’s an immense honour, to be the first Malaysian invited to be a Booker Prize judge, and I couldn’t very well say no, could I?”

Tan will soon be embarking on a “daunting number” of media events and literary events across the UK to promote his new book. Malaysian fans can catch him on our shores in July, as he launches ‘The House of Doors’ in Penang.

Asked about future film and television adaptations of his books, Tan said he hoped to have good news on these in future.

He revealed BBC Radio 4 would be adapting ‘The House of Doors’ into audio format for their Book at Bedtime programme. The novel will be read and performed by actors over 10 episodes, each about 15-20 minutes long.

Tan Twan Eng’s ‘The House of Doors’ will be released today.