Henryk Sienkiewicz 1905
"because of his outstanding merits as an epic writer"
			--The Nobel Foundation
Statistics:	Poland	1846-1916	prize presentation
Biography:	Sienkiewicz (psuedonym Litwos) studied literature, history, and philology at Warsaw University but left in 1871 without taking a degree. He had begun to publish critical articles in 1869 that showed the influence of positivism, a system of philosophy popular in Poland and elsewhere at the time, emphasizing in particular the achievements of science. His first novel, Na marne (In Vain), appeared in 1872, and his first short story, "Stary sluga" ("An Old Retainer"), in 1875. He traveled in the United States (1876-78) as special correspondent of the Gazeta polska ("Polish Gazette") and, after his return to Poland, via Italy and France, published a number of successful short stories, among them "Janko Muzykant" (1879; "Yanko the Musician"), "Latarnik" (1882; "The Lighthouse-Keeper"), and "Bartek Zwyciezca" (1882; "Bartek the Conqueror"). From 1882 to 1887 he was coeditor of the daily Slowo. In 1900, to celebrate the 30th year of his career as a writer, he was presented by the Polish people with the small estate of Oblegorek, near Kielce, where he lived until 1914. During World War I he promoted the cause of Polish independence and organized relief for Polish war victims. Sienkiewicz' great trilogy of historical novels began to appear in Slowo in 1883. It is composed of Ogniem i mieczem (1884; With Fire and Sword), Potop (1886; The Deluge), and Pan Wolodyjowski (1887-88; Pan Michael). Set in the later 17th century, the trilogy describes Poland's struggles against Cossacks, Tatars, Swedes, and Turks, stressing Polish heroism in a vivid style of epic clarity and simplicity. The finest of the three works, With Fire and Sword, describes the Poles' attempts to halt the rebellion of the Zaporozhian Cossacks led by Bohdan Khmelnytsky. Sienkiewicz' other novels include the widely translated Quo Vadis? (1896), a historical novel set in Rome under Nero, which established Sienkiewicz's international reputation. Although Sienkiewicz' major novels have been criticized for their theatricality and lack of historical accuracy, they display great narrative power and contain vivid characterizations. Encyclopedia Britannica See also: Polish Nobelist in Literature The World of Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Sienkiewicz Quotations
Bibliography:	*In Vain (1872) Poland Trilogy: With Fire and Sword; Deluge; Pan Michael (Fire in the Steppe) (1884-1888) *Without Dogma (1891) *Children of the Soil (1894) *The Polaniecki Family (1894) Quo Vadis (1895) *On the Sunny Shore (1897) *The Third Woman (1898) *Fate of a Soldier (1898) The Teutonic Knights (1900) *Judgement of Peter and Paul on Olympus (1900) *Her Tragic Fate (1901) On the Field of Glory (1906) *Whirlpools (1910) In Desert and Wilderness (1912) The Little Trilogy *Through the Desert *The Legions *So Runs the World *After Bread *In Monte Carlo *Dust and Ashes or Demolished *So Runs the World *On the Bright Shore Charcoal Sketches and Other Tales *Yanko the Musician and Other Stories (1893) *Lillian Morris and Other Stories (1894) *Let Us Follow HIm and Other Stories (1897) *Life and Death and Other Legends and Stories *For Daily Bread and Other Stories *Western Septet: Seven Stories of the American West
Books about Henryk Sienkiewicz:	*Henryk Sienkiewicz (Mieczyslaw Giergielewicz) The Trilogy Companion (Jerzy Krzyzanowski)
			*out of print
Last updated: December 2003			Back