With Fire and Sword
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Ogniem_i_Mieczem_plakat.jpg
With Fire and Sword (Polish Ogniem i mieczem) is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1884, and made into a movie (With Fire and Sword - the movie) in 1999. It is the first volume of a series known as The Trilogy. The book's sequels are The Deluge (Potop, 1886) and Pan Michael (Pan Wołodyjowski, 1888), aka Fire in the Steppe.
With Fire and Sword is an action/historical fiction novel set in the 17th century in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Chmielnicki uprising. It was initially serialized in several Polish newspapers, chapters appearing in weekly instalments. It gained enormous popularity in Poland, and by the turn of the 20th century had become one of the most popular Polish books ever. It became obligatory reading in Polish schools, and has been translated into most European languages.
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The book
Although the plot is mostly fictitious, the book's characters include many real persons of the period, like Samuel Laszcz. Sienkiewicz researched memoirs and chronicles of Polish nobility (szlachta) in search of details of life in 17th-century Poland. The book was written with the purpose of upholding the patriotic spirit of the Polish nation during the partitions era. Thus it often favors epic plots and heroic scenes over historical accuracy. Also, Sienkiewicz had never been to Ukraine and wrote large parts of his Trilogy in the USA. It is often pointed out that he modeled his Ukrainian steppe after the American prairie, and the Cossacks after the American Indians. Nonetheless, with Sienkiewicz vivid language, it is one of the most popular books about that particular time and place.
The film
The film With Fire and Sword was directed by Jerzy Hoffman and released in 1999. At the time, it was the most expensive Polish film ever made. It has been filmed as the last part of the series, after Potop filmed in 1974 and Pan Wolodyjowski filmed first in 1969.
See also
External links
- The full text of the book in Polish (http://www.literatura.zapis.net.pl/trylogia/ogniem_i_mieczem.htm).
References
- Henryk Sienkiewicz, With Fire and Sword, Fredonia Books 2002, ISBN 141010057X
- Jerzy R. Krzyanowski, The Trilogy Companion: A Reader's Guide to the Trilogy of Henryk Sienkiewicz, Hippocrene Books, 1992, ISBN 0870522213
- Sienkiewicz Trilogy DVD edition, 2004, ASIN B0001Z4PRSpl:Ogniem i mieczem