The Deluge: An Historical Novel of Poland, Sweden, and Russia (Volume One), Vol. 1

From Publishers Weekly
Surrounding himself with murderous libertines and wastrels, wild young Polish soldier Andrei Kmita is misled into treason. But his pure love for spirited Olenka (Aleksandra Billevich) eventually sets him on track and inspires his single-minded mission, the defense of his motherland. It's the middle of the 17th century, and the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth is crushed in a vise of rebellion and bloody onslaughts by Swedes and Russians. Around the constants of love and war, Polish novelist Sienkiewicz (1846-1916) weaves a fugue of betrayal, redemption, faith and passion. An underlying theme questions whether people can rise above their time and circumstances. In his massive novel, with its eerie foreshadowing of modern Poland's overthrow of the Soviet yoke, Sienkiewicz ( Quo Vadis? ) gives a resounding answer. His rounded characters represent all sectors of society in this, the second volume of a trilogy begun in With Fire and Sword. The convincing translation by Polish-born American novelist Kuniczak adds luster to a robust populist epic. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
A mere five years have passed since the knights of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth threw back the Cossack invasion from the East, yet a new and far more dangerous threat appears: Swedish troops are pouring across the northern border. Thus begins Sienkiewicz's sprawling epic sequel to With Fire and Sword ( LJ 3/15/91). As in the first novel, the text brings to life an entire 17th-century culture, unfolding like a richly adorned tapestry. Central to the story is Andrei Kmita, a young Lithuanian noble whose ruthlessness obscures his military sagacity and bravery, branding him an outlaw. But for the love of the beautiful Olenka, he undertakes to reshape his character in the forge of battle, and in so doing helps save king, country, and church from the heretic invaders. Beside him fight Volodyovski, Zagloba, and Skshetuski, the principal knights from With Fire and Sword . In many ways, the new saga in which they appear falls short of the high standard set by that magnificent predecessor. The characters are more stiffly predictable, the pace protracted, and the ending too abrupt. Nonetheless, its significance eclipses its flaws, making it essential in any collection.-Paul E. Hutchison, Bellefonte, Pa.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Book News, Inc.
Continuing Hippocrene's ambitious and valuable project is this second book of the Trilogy, Poland's national prose epic which has long been "lost" to the Western world. Written by the 1905 Nobel laureate, it is here translated directly into English for the first time and adapted for the modern reader by W.S. Kuniczak. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.


Book Description
This is volume one of a two-volume work, the sequel to "With Fire and Sword," a massive book called one of the greatest in European literature. "The Deluge" continues the sweeping saga of war and rebellion that threatened the kingdom of Poland and changed the face of Eastern Europe in the 17th Century. This historical novel of Poland, Sweden and Russia, is a masterful blend of history and imagination, filled with nonstop action and adventure. Sienkiewicz's work is the sweeping saga of a nation caught in the throes of a civil war, of a people struggling for survival, and of events that forever changed the face of Eastern Europe. Number two in his trilogy on the history of Poland, it tells the love story of a man and a woman tragically separated by foolishness, pride, confusion and the Swedish invation of Poland in the 1500s which divided a nation against itself and drew the best and worst out of its citizens This authorized, unabridged edition was translated from the Polish by Jeremiah Curtin.


Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Polish


About the Author
Henryk (Adam Alexander Pius) Sienkiewicz (1846-1916) was a novelist, born in Wola Okrzejska, Poland. He studied at Warsaw, travelled in the USA, and in the 1870s began to write articles, short stories, and novels. His major work was a war trilogy about 17th-c Poland, beginning with Ogniem i mieczem (1884, With Fire and Sword), but his most widely known book is the story of Rome under Nero, Quo Vadis? (1896), several times filmed, notably in 1951 by Mervyn Le Roy (1900-87). He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905.


Buy from Amazon     Compare Prices

This two-volume work is the sequel to "With Fire and Sword," a massive book called one of the greatest in European literature. "The Deluge" continues the sweeping saga of war and rebellion that threatened the kingdom of Poland and changed the face of Eastern Europe in the 17th Century. This historical novel of Poland, Sweden and Russia, is a masterful blend of history and imagination, filled with nonstop action and adventure. Sienkiewicz's work is the sweeping saga of a nation caught in the throes of a civil war, of a people struggling for survival, and of events that forever changed the face of Eastern Europe. Number two in his trilogy on the history of Poland, it tells the love story of a man and a woman tragically separated by foolishness, pride, confusion and the Swedish invasion of Poland in the 1500s which divided a nation against itself and drew the best and worst out of its citizens. Henryk (Adam Alexander Pius) Sienkiewicz (1846-1916) was a novelist, born in Wola Okrzejska, Poland. He studied at Warsaw, travelled in the USA, and in the 1870s began to write articles, short stories, and novels. His major work was a war trilogy about 17th-c Poland, beginning with Ogniem i mieczem (1884, With Fire and Sword), but his most widely known book is the story of Rome under Nero, Quo Vadis (1896), several times filmed, notably in 1951 by Mervyn Le Roy (1900-87). He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905.


Buy from Barnes & Noble     Compare Prices