The characters of Jacob and Dulce and their families were introduced to the public of Goa through the pages of the newspaper O Ultramar in a series of sketches published in the 1890s, later compiled into a book published in 1896. Its author used the sketches to criticise Goan Christian society as well as the government of the day. A second edition came out in 1907. The English translation in 1996 coincided unwittingly with the centenary of its first publication.