In 1877-78, Ramashankar Ray, a dramatist, serialized the first Oriya novel, Saudamani. But he could not complete it.

Within thirty years, Orissa produced a major novelist in Fakir Mohan Senapati (1843-1918). The title of his novel Chaa Mana Atha Guntha (1902) translates as six acres and thirty-two decimals of land. The novel revolves around a land and greed for its possession. It tells us about a landlord Ramachandra Mangeraj who neither spears his drunken master nor the childless weavers couple. The main theme of the novel is the social issues. But its characterization and style of description is quite absorbing.