Bolesław Prus – författare

A groundbreaking new translation of the only historical novelby noted Polish writer Bolesław Prus.

“ . . . unique in world literature of the nineteenth century”--CzesławMiłosz

Imbued with poetry, leavened with humor, andgraced with moments of transcendent beauty, Pharaoh offers a compellingpicture of life at every level of ancient Egyptian society.  As the story unfolds, Egypt is experiencinginternal stresses and external threats that will culminate in the fall of itsTwentieth Dynasty and New Kingdom. The young Pharaoh Ramses learns thatchallenging power leaves him vulnerable to seduction, defamation, intimidationand even assassination. The ultimate lesson learned by Ramses is the power ofknowledge.

Prus isa distinctive voice in world literature and was Joseph Conrad’s favorite Polishwriter. This new edition of Christopher Kasparek’s translation of Pharaoh vividlybrings this extraordinary novel to life. It includes a detailed foreword and annotations,based on extensive research and textual refinements, that will enhance thereader’s appreciation not only for ancient Egypt, but also for Prus’composition process.

Pharaoh has been translated intotwenty-three languages and was adapted as a 1966 Polish feature film.  

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. A few pages can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere.

In this series we try to offer up tried and trusted ‘Top Tens’ across many different themes and authors. But any anthology will immediately throw up the questions – Why that story? Why that author?

The theme itself will form the boundaries for our stories which range from well-known classics, newly told, to stories that modern times have overlooked but perfectly exemplify the theme. Throughout the volume our authors whether of instant recognition or new to you are all leviathans of literature.

Some you may disagree with but they will get you thinking; about our choices and about those you would have made. If this volume takes you on a path to discover more of these miniature masterpieces then we have all gained something.

From the Central plain of Europe to the Urals, many thousands of miles away, the nations of Eastern Europe have risen to become Empires and fallen underfoot to others. Their literary tradition has always been strong and vibrant, bold and beguiling. Within the many cultures and societies the narrative of the human condition is told in many startling and beautiful ways.

Aleksander Głowacki who wrote under the nom de plume Boleslaw Prus was born on 20th August 1847 at Hrubieszów in the Kingdom of Poland, at that time, controlled by the Russian Empire.

At three his mother died and then at nine his father. Female relatives helped raise him but at 15 he joined the Polish uprising against the might of Imperial Russia. Wounded on the battlefield, arrested and imprisoned, he was later released into the care of a relative and resumed secondary school and then Warsaw University but poverty forced him to leave after two years. At some point he developed agoraphobia which often caused problems.

In 1869, he enrolled in the Forestry Department at Puławy but was soon sacked and so he began a system of self-education that led to work as a newspaper columnist on a wide-ranging series of topics that eventually became the ‘Weekly Chronicles’ and spanned 40 years.

With his finances now stabilized he married and then adopted his late brother-in-law’s son.

It seems he had doubts as to the scale of his talents and early on adopted the name ‘Boleslaw Prus’ for both his journalistic and literary offerings.

His work as a short-story writer met with much acclaim. He wrote several dozen of them, originally published in newspapers and ranging in length from micro-story to novella. His keen observation of everyday life and sense of humor are evident in them.

During his career he also wrote novels. After ‘Pharoah’, in 1895, he embarked on a four-month journey taking in Berlin, Dresden, Nuremberg, Rapperswil in Switzerland, where he stayed for two months, and his final destination, Paris. Here his agoraphobia was so bad he couldn’t cross the Seine.

However, his writing continued and in 1911 his novel ‘Changes’, though uncompleted, began to be serialised. It was never finished.

Boleslaw Prus died on 19th May 1912, at his Warsaw apartment. He was 64. A National Hero, thousands attended both his funeral service and interment.