Alaler Gharer Dulal

The Spoilt Child (Bengali: Alaler Gharer Dulal আলালের ঘরের দুলাল; published in 1857) is a Bengali novel by Peary Chand Mitra (1814–1883). The writer used the pseudonym Tekchand Thakur for this novel.

The novel describes the society of the nineteenth-century Calcutta with a focus on the lifestyle of its intemperate and prodigal protagonist, Matilal. The novel is a landmark in the history of Bengali language and Bengali literature, as it used Cholitobhasa (colloquial form of the Bengali language) for the first time in print; the simple prose style introduced came to be known as "Alali-style" . The novel also happens to be one of the earliest Bengali novels.[1] The novel was first published serially in a monthly magazine, Masik Patrika. Later, a dramatised version was staged at the Bengal Theatre (January 1875).