Tjerita Njai Dasima

Tjěrita Njai Dasima: Soewatoe Korban dari pada Pěmboedjoek (The Story of Njai Dasima: A Victim of Temptation), sometimes spelled Cerita Nyai Dasima, is an Indonesian short novel written by G. Francis. It was published in 1896 by Kho Tjeng Bie & Co. of Batavia and written in colloquial Malay. The story is about Dasima, a Sundanese woman, who becomes nyai, or concubine, to an Englishman. It was based on a true story, and the novel was adapted for theatre, music, and film. The novel is considered to be the first of a genre of stories based on things said to have "actually occurred", popular among "early Chinese-Malay novels". Author Little is known about G. Francis, as it was likely a pen-name. He was likely of English descent, and based on the language used in the novel, could have been part-Indonesian, Christian, and so considered legally European by the standards of the time. Francis was on the editorial staff of Bandung-area newspaper Pengadilan, before moving to Batavia, and publishing a biography of Napoleon in 1891.