Abstract:

Çingene Kızı was the first novel written by Halide Edip Adıvar and was published in 1899 in the Hanımlara Mahsus Gazete under the name of “Halide”’ while she was still a high school student. Determining the various aspects of the novel and that it in fact was composed by Halide Edip play an important role in the process of completing the author’s biography. In fact, the novel provides important clues about Halide Edip Adıvar’s entry into the literary world, her initial influences, and character building in her later novels. This article aims to determine the position of Çingene Kızı in Halide Edip’s biography. It also examines, the relationship between Çingene Kızı and Ahmet Mithat Efendi’s novel, Çingene, which had a significant impact on Halide Edip’s novel. Further, the process and purpose of writing Çingene Kızı is discussed.