This collection of letters was written by Raden Adjeng Kartini, the daughter of a Javanese civil servant in the Dutch colonial government. After being granted the rare opportunity to attend a Dutch elementary school, at the age of twelve she went into seclusion in accordance with Indonesian customs for women of nobility prior to marriage. Her letters to Dutch correspondents offer a captivating glimpse into the life and spirit of a woman who challenged the customs of her time and forcefully promoted the rights of women to obtain an education. This edition faithfully reproduces the first English translation, which was published in 1920, and includes a contemporary biographical essay by Guggenheim award-winning scholar E. M. Beekman, as well as a detailed chronology of Kartini's life.