Ahmet Mithat Efendi, born in Istanbul in 1844, is a journalist, novelist, and storyteller who popularized reading during the Tanzimat period. After finishing his primary education in Vidin with his brother, the artist returned to Istanbul and began working in the Spice Bazaar. He became a civil servant, and when his brother became governor of Nis, he moved there with him, finished high school, and worked in Kalaemi, Danube Province of Ruse. Mithat Pasha gave him his own name while he was here. He became the Tuna newspaper’s editor-in-chief and moved to Baghdad with Mithat Pasha. During his time in Baghdad, he published the newspaper Zevra. He published Hace-i Evvel here, which was given to him as a nickname. He later returned to Istanbul, where he worked as a printer and published his own books. He founded the Basiret newspaper and was exiled to Rhodes as a result of an article he wrote for the Bret newspaper. Here he wrote his first novels and plays. When the artist returned to Istanbul following Abdülmecid’s abdication, he started a newspaper called Tercüman-Adalet. He increased his public profile by publishing various articles and novels in this newspaper.
The works of Ahmet Mithat Efendi are technically deficient. Although he was aware of this, he wrote it to enlighten and teach the people. The artist’s expression, which reflects his understanding of human psychology, is simple and direct. Ahmet Mithat has nearly 200 works in a variety of genres, including articles, criticism, translation, travel, memoir, theater, novel, and story. He has mostly written short stories and novels. The artist provided the first examples of Western-style stories. He gathered these stories from his book Letaif-i Rivayet, which has 25 chapters. The artist also wrote the novel Hasan Mellah (1874), our second domestic novel example, following Taaşşuk- Talat and Ftnat, our first.
In his works, Ahmet Mithat Efendi has left plenty of room for adventure, unbelievable coincidences, extraordinary events, and types that can be encountered at any time. In his works, he also gave a lot of space to social issues. He has always been concerned with ethics and social justice.
The following are some of Ahmet Mithat Efendi’s most important works:
•Felatun Bey and Rakm Efendi: This is a novel written by Ahmet Mithat Efendi during his exile in Rhodes. He compared a domestic type to a Westernized type in his work. Felatun Bey is a spoiled, illegitimate young man who misinterpreted Westernization. Rakm Efendi, on the other hand, was orphaned when he was young and raised himself. This character is linked to his own life in some way.
• Hasan Mellah: Ahmet Mithat Efendi’s first novel, Hasan Mellah, was written as a parallel to the novel “Monte Cristo.” Hasan Mellah is the novel’s main character. The novel tells the story of Hasan Mellah’s adventures.
• Müşahedat: This novel by Ahmet Mithat Efendi reflects his own literary ideas. In this work, the artist reflected both good and evil.
• He Is Only Seventeen: This work is significant because it demonstrates Ahmet Mithat’s transition from romanticism to realism. He dealt with a woman who had gone astray in the novel and hoped to instill moral rules in the reader by pitying her.
• Young Turk: In this novel, Ahmet Mithat Efendi chronicles the social events of his time.
• A Cevelan in Europe: Ahmet Mithat’s work describes his trip to Sweden and his impressions from that trip.
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