Lichter dan ik

Lichter dan ik is the moving story of a young woman compelled to give up everything for her children, who, because of their mixed blood, hold more status than she does. In this historical novel, Dutch colonial rule and its consequences are seen through her eyes.

Java, 1850. Isah is the daughter of the sultan’s seamstress and grows up within the closed community of the Kraton, the royal palace in Djokja. Her path in the traditional class society seems predetermined. But Isah is headstrong and runs away from home. She becomes both housekeeper and mistress to a Dutch officer, bearing him two daughters. When he leaves them, she is forced to make great sacrifices to see her children grow up in the rapidly changing colony. Ultimately, Isah realizes that she cannot—and does not want to—deny her Javanese heritage.