The autodidact Daum was born in impoverished circumstances of a single mother in the Netherlands and did not enjoy much education.

In 1879, he was appointed coeditor and later chief editor of the newspaper De Locomotief (The Locomotive) in Semarang on Java, and became editor-in-chief of Indisch Vaderland in 1883.

As owner, managing director and chief editor he made it one of the largest newspapers in the Dutch East Indies.

His other well-known novels are Goena-goena (1889), Indische mensen in Holland (Indies People in Holland), 1890, and Ups en Downs in het Indische leven (Ups and Downs of Life in the Indies, 1892.

Publishing his popular writings as a series in his newspaper, using the pseudonym Maurits, contributed significantly to its commercial success.