Novel
Hikayat Faridah Hanom
Not translated into English
Syed Syeikh al-Hadi · 1926
Synopsis
In Egypt, Faridah Hanom and Shafik Afandi, two young people of noble family, meet and fall in love; their story, a realistic one, leaves no room for the marvellous. Faridah, educated, speaks French as well as her own language. But she is married without her consent to her cousin Baharuddin Afandi, and this imposed union brings her no happiness; the two young people, faithful to each other, then try to assert their love.
Context
The book appeared in Penang in two parts, in 1925 and 1926. It carries its author's reformist ideas on the education of women and their freedom to choose a husband, in a narrative rather than a treatise. It has been said to be adapted from an Egyptian love story; one study sees in it the influence of the novel Zaynab by Muhammad Husayn Haykal, without its being a translation. It was reissued in Kuala Lumpur by Pustaka Antara in 1968, then again more recently.
Who it is for
A sentimental novel with a reformist aim, in Malay, simple to read; it exists neither in French nor in English.
Prizes and reception
Regarded as the first modern Malay novel, and its author as the father of the Malay novel.
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