Merari Siregar was an Indonesian writer and also the author of the first novel written in Indonesian

Indonesian language

Indonesian is the official language of Indonesia. Indonesian is a normative form of the Riau Islands dialect of Malay, an Austronesian language which has been used as a lingua franca in the Indonesian archipelago for centuries....

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She completed her studies at a Kweekschool and in 1923 received a diploma as Handelscorrespondent Bond 'Federal Trade Correspondent' in Jakarta. She taught in Medan, North Sumatra, and then worked in a public hospital in Jakarta, after that she started to move again, this time to Madura. She wrote Si Jamin dan Si Johan ('The History of Jamin and Johan') which was an adaptation of Jan Smees by the Dutch author Justus Van Maurik

Justus van Maurik

Justus van Maurik , or Justus van Maurik Jr., was a Dutch author and cigar maker. He was the grandson of the similarly named Justus van Maurik Sr.....

. In Cerita tentang Busuk dan Wanginya Kota Betawi, she wrote about the "rot" and "perfume" of Batavia. She is especially known for Azab dan Sengsara ('Pain and Suffering') from 1920 about the problems of a forced marriage.

Novels

• Azab dan Sengsara
• Si Jamin dan Si Johan
• Azab dan Sengsara. 1920.
• Binasa Karena Gadis Priangan. 1931.
• Cerita tentang Busuk dan Wanginya Kota Betawi. 1924.
• Cinta dan Hawa Nafsu.