Hugh Charles Clifford was the first British colonial agent, and later Resident, attached to the Kingdom of Pahang in the Malay Peninsula. Both during and after his posting to Pahang he penned numerous short stories about Pahang and its people. By the time he was sent to Pahang, the era of the East India Company was over, and colonial intervention in Malay affairs was managed by the colonial government based in India and London. Clifford's stories were compiled in two edited volumes, In a Corner of Asia (1899) and The Further Side of Silence (1916), and in the novel Saleh: A Prince of Malaya (1926). He also wrote other works that covered topics and themes related to his own concerns as colonial resident and as an observer of Malay society then, including Malayan Monochromes, The Downfall of the Gods, Further India and Studies in Brown Humanity. In his writings, Clifford's interests as both colonial functionary and amateur scholar-observer are evident. As the first colonial functionary who was sent to Pahang to map out the territory and then to establish the first British colonial foothold in the kingdom (at the age of 20), Clifford later came to be regarded as the foremost British expert on all matters related to Pahang and its people, culture and history. A summary of the tales that appeared in the edited volumes In a Corner of Asia and The Further Side of Silence and the novel Saleh: A Prince of Malaya reveals that Clifford's own understanding of the concepts of racial difference and ethnic-racial hierarchies were foremost in his own approach and handling of Malay affairs. Below is an overview of some of the stories written by Clifford that appeared in the edited works In a Corner of Asia and The Further Side of Silence.

‘At the Court of Pelesu’ (1899)

Among the many stories that were written by Hugh Clifford, ‘At the Court of Pelesu’ is perhaps the best-known and most personal. Though the names of the characters and places are fictional, any keen reader of Clifford's work will immediately recognise that the character of Jack Norris is based on none other than Clifford himself, and Pelesu refers to Pekan, the court of Pahang.