196 KING RAT
Reel History Versus Real History
King Rat is a more or less accurate rendition of its source material, but Clavell always
claimed that his book was pure fiction. In the novel’s preface he states, “ There was
a war. Changi and Outram [Road] jails in Singapore do—or did— exist. Obviously
the rest of the story is fiction and no similarity to anyone living or dead exists or
is intended.” American historian/biographer Stanley Weintraub begs to differ, pos-
tulating that King Rat’s title character is likely an amalgam of at least three POWs
that Clavell knew (or knew of) at Changi: Eddie MacArthur, a merchant seaman;
Robert I. “Bob” Martin, a Navy crewman from the sunken USS Houston; and
Albert L. “Buttercup” Carpenter of Battery F of the New Mexico National Guard.
Of the three, Corporal King most closely resembles Buttercup Carpenter. Wein-
traub cites Sir Thomas Howell, RAF (Ret.), a former inmate with Clavell: “He was
by no means so sinister or selfish [as Cpl. King] but [Carpenter] became a ‘skillful
operator’ and as a result of using profits for the benefits of the prisoners he was an
instrument for saving many lives as risk” (Rusinko, 1998, pp. 198–199).