The Deluge Vol II of 2 An Historical Novel of Poland Sweden and Russia eBook Henryk Sienkiewicz Jeremiah Curtin
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The Deluge Vol II of 2 An Historical Novel of Poland Sweden and Russia eBook Henryk Sienkiewicz Jeremiah Curtin
The Deluge is the name given by Henryk Sienkiewicz for book 2 in his trilogy. Among the Poles this is the great national novel and is known simply as The Trilogy. Given his near ubiquitous presence I prefer an alternate name for this series the Zagloba Trilogy.Speaking of alternative names, quoting from Wikki:
The term Deluge (Polish: Роtор, Lithuanian: Tvanas, Cyrillic: Потоп) denotes a series of mid-17th century campaigns in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky (Chmielnicki) Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, thus comprising the Polish-Lithuanian theatres of the Russo-Polish and Second Northern Wars. In a stricter sense, the term refers to the Swedish invasion and occupation of the Commonwealth as a theatre of the Second Northern War only (1655-1660); In Poland and Lithuania this period is called the Swedish Deluge (Lithuanian: Švedų tvanas, Polish: Potop szwedzki), and the term deluge (or potop in Polish) was popularized by Henryk Sienkiewicz, in his 1886 book The Deluge.
During the wars the Commonwealth lost approximately 1/3 of its population as well as its status as a great power. According to Professor Andrzej Rottermund, manager of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the destruction of Poland in the deluge was more extensive than the destruction of the country in World War II. As Rottermund claims, Swedish invaders robbed the Commonwealth of its most important riches, and most of the stolen items never returned to Poland. Warsaw, the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was completely destroyed by the Swedes, and out of a pre-war population of 20,000, only 2,000 remained in the city after the war. Close Quote
The problem of more than one names begins in the first book of the trilogy and is a cental point in the plot of The Deluge. The good news is that Sienkiewicz has decided to refer to Vodka only as gorlaki.
Book I centered on the wars between the Polish and the Commonwealth allies in the Ukraine as the they fought and negotiated with the Cossack uprising. The Caucuses location and mixture of nationalities made book I hard to follow in terms of the Polish role in these events. Further the Commonwealth hardy achieves absolute victory over the Cossacks. If By Fire and Sword introduces us to the Polish national epic it is a conditional epic rather than the more typical nationalist, home and fatherland type national epic.
Book 2 seems to begin in a similar conditional vein. The Swedish Army led by King Charles Gustav has invaded the Commonwealth is nearly triumphant at all fronts. Many of the Polish nobility and of particular interest Starosta (again it is difficult to keep track of titles in this series) Radzivill and one of his Colonels, Prince Bogoslav defect to the Swedish and will become the major villains of this book.
The lesser nobleman Kmita is initially sworn into loyalty to Prince Bogoslav. In this role he will commit dastardly deeds while falling in love with Aleksandra Billevich AKA Olenka. Olenka will find herself warring between her love for Kmita and her disgust with his pro-Swedish violence.
Unknown to Olenka, Kmita will change his loyalties and fights in defense of the church and town of Chenstovski. This defense will become the symbol of Polish refusal to accept Swedish dominance. Kmita assumes the name of Babinich, and heroically contributes to breaking the siege at Chemstovski. From there he seeks out the Polish King, John Casimir for whom he now becomes an equally vicious, arm of vengeance in the cause of the Polish Commonwealth and his personal need to be worthy of Olenka,
The balance of the book becomes a semi-historical and very pro-Polish retelling of the next several years of warfare between these two states. The novel will essentially retell this period A second time from the point of view of Olenka as the "guest" of Bogoslav.
This is a very old style of storytelling. At times it seems more adopted for reading before the campfire. There is grandness to the language. To the modern ear the consistent refusal to take prisoners or allow warriors to surrender becomes a reminder the bloody mindedness that could infuse the heroic pre-20th century novel. Taken in the context of its time in the intentional flag-waving of the author, The Deluge carries the trilogy forward as a more traditional grand scale national epic.
As The Trilogy is sometimes called the Romances of Zagloba, a few thoughts on this minor nobleman. Zabloba is not exactly a central character in either book I or book II. In The Deluge he functions as one of the key military leaders and because of his diplomatic skills earns his way among the king's sometimes inner circle. In book 1 he is a humorous Falstaffian character with the tricks of a Ulysses. In this book he retains his braggadocio but more often is a combat leader and insightful diplomat. There is an odd moment when he appears to lead a very threatening dissatisfaction with a decision by King but he is forgiven his independence. Because of the way Zagloba transforms from a figure of fun- as found early in book I into an important leader halfway into book II, Zagloba is established as a more complex figure, and more of an interesting study than either Falstaff or Ulysses.
The Deluge is an action filled adventure and a worthy continuation middle book. In fact it avoids the typical middle book problem of being the tie from book 1 to book 3. It stands alone well. Sienkiewicz continues to do an interesting job making his heroes less-than-perfect his villains not entirely despicable. He also continues to clutter his text with too many details. There is a serious effort for this to be historical fiction but it is fiction. As with book 1 I found it necessary to read this book in relatively short takes. More so than in With Fire and Sword I found myself rushing to return to and complete The Deluge.
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The Deluge Vol II of 2 An Historical Novel of Poland Sweden and Russia eBook Henryk Sienkiewicz Jeremiah Curtin Reviews
Item as described.
Not as action packed as the field of Glory, (same author), but still a great historical read
I read the Deluge in original Polish as a child.
This is a translation made in 1897 in USA seemingly from Russian and it is amazing in the use of slang in America 120 years ago.
To someone who knows the original the phrases chosen by translator are unbelievable even though he claims to have met the author Sienkiewicz personally more than once.
The translation of a greeting common among Poles by "With Forehead" is ludicrous and was already criticized by other commentators.
Otherwise the story is probably strange to anyone not familiar with Polish history
I read this book and the other two in Sienkewicz trilogy because I was interested in my family history which is Polish and Swedish. I did learn from these books. As I read and realized why this author was so praised for Qua Vadis. I found it difficult to put it down. Historically it was enlightening. His plot, character development and description of events was captivating. Even if I did not have a motive for reading these works I am glad I am introduced to a great writer.
I don't read a lot and when I do I usually choose history books and ones that are not nearly as long as this book. But I'm now on my third historical novel by Sienkiewicz (all of which are long) and this may be the best. The author creates wonderful characters and brings the times and actual historical events to life. There are always twists and turns in the narrative, but, what I like and others may not, is that you eventually can relax and read because you know nothing terrible will ever happen to the book's hero.
For me at least ... definitively one of the best books by Sienkiewicz. The book is based on relatively little known history of Poland - at the time the largest country in Europe, fighting off Swedish invasion. Based on the real historical background the action is flowing in such a way that it is hard to put the book away. Sienkiewicz is a master teller and does not disappoint. Probably the best of the whole trilogy volumes, although, each one gets my highest recommendation. Grab all of them if you can.
Call me an oddball, but I really love the old style of writing, and this author really rings the bell for me. The prose is so rich. The insights into human thought, feeling and motivations are entrancing. I first read OF FIRE AND SWORD, then followed up with the other two volumes of the story, THE DELUGE, Volumes I and II. I'm now into the continuation, PAN MICHAEL. I'm of Austro/Hungarian descent and live in a community largely of Polish, Russian and Hungarian roots, so the history means a lot to me. The love stories are woven into the history of wars and conquerers and political intrigue in the history of Poland. By far the best of around 70 books I've read this year. And free, to boot. Can't beat that with a stick )
Please comment on this review to share your thoughts if you pick up these books. I'd be pleased for other recommendations.
The Deluge is the name given by Henryk Sienkiewicz for book 2 in his trilogy. Among the Poles this is the great national novel and is known simply as The Trilogy. Given his near ubiquitous presence I prefer an alternate name for this series the Zagloba Trilogy.
Speaking of alternative names, quoting from Wikki
The term Deluge (Polish Роtор, Lithuanian Tvanas, Cyrillic Потоп) denotes a series of mid-17th century campaigns in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In a wider sense it applies to the period between the Khmelnytsky (Chmielnicki) Uprising of 1648 and the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667, thus comprising the Polish-Lithuanian theatres of the Russo-Polish and Second Northern Wars. In a stricter sense, the term refers to the Swedish invasion and occupation of the Commonwealth as a theatre of the Second Northern War only (1655-1660); In Poland and Lithuania this period is called the Swedish Deluge (Lithuanian Švedų tvanas, Polish Potop szwedzki), and the term deluge (or potop in Polish) was popularized by Henryk Sienkiewicz, in his 1886 book The Deluge.
During the wars the Commonwealth lost approximately 1/3 of its population as well as its status as a great power. According to Professor Andrzej Rottermund, manager of the Royal Castle in Warsaw, the destruction of Poland in the deluge was more extensive than the destruction of the country in World War II. As Rottermund claims, Swedish invaders robbed the Commonwealth of its most important riches, and most of the stolen items never returned to Poland. Warsaw, the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, was completely destroyed by the Swedes, and out of a pre-war population of 20,000, only 2,000 remained in the city after the war. Close Quote
The problem of more than one names begins in the first book of the trilogy and is a cental point in the plot of The Deluge. The good news is that Sienkiewicz has decided to refer to Vodka only as gorlaki.
Book I centered on the wars between the Polish and the Commonwealth allies in the Ukraine as the they fought and negotiated with the Cossack uprising. The Caucuses location and mixture of nationalities made book I hard to follow in terms of the Polish role in these events. Further the Commonwealth hardy achieves absolute victory over the Cossacks. If By Fire and Sword introduces us to the Polish national epic it is a conditional epic rather than the more typical nationalist, home and fatherland type national epic.
Book 2 seems to begin in a similar conditional vein. The Swedish Army led by King Charles Gustav has invaded the Commonwealth is nearly triumphant at all fronts. Many of the Polish nobility and of particular interest Starosta (again it is difficult to keep track of titles in this series) Radzivill and one of his Colonels, Prince Bogoslav defect to the Swedish and will become the major villains of this book.
The lesser nobleman Kmita is initially sworn into loyalty to Prince Bogoslav. In this role he will commit dastardly deeds while falling in love with Aleksandra Billevich AKA Olenka. Olenka will find herself warring between her love for Kmita and her disgust with his pro-Swedish violence.
Unknown to Olenka, Kmita will change his loyalties and fights in defense of the church and town of Chenstovski. This defense will become the symbol of Polish refusal to accept Swedish dominance. Kmita assumes the name of Babinich, and heroically contributes to breaking the siege at Chemstovski. From there he seeks out the Polish King, John Casimir for whom he now becomes an equally vicious, arm of vengeance in the cause of the Polish Commonwealth and his personal need to be worthy of Olenka,
The balance of the book becomes a semi-historical and very pro-Polish retelling of the next several years of warfare between these two states. The novel will essentially retell this period A second time from the point of view of Olenka as the "guest" of Bogoslav.
This is a very old style of storytelling. At times it seems more adopted for reading before the campfire. There is grandness to the language. To the modern ear the consistent refusal to take prisoners or allow warriors to surrender becomes a reminder the bloody mindedness that could infuse the heroic pre-20th century novel. Taken in the context of its time in the intentional flag-waving of the author, The Deluge carries the trilogy forward as a more traditional grand scale national epic.
As The Trilogy is sometimes called the Romances of Zagloba, a few thoughts on this minor nobleman. Zabloba is not exactly a central character in either book I or book II. In The Deluge he functions as one of the key military leaders and because of his diplomatic skills earns his way among the king's sometimes inner circle. In book 1 he is a humorous Falstaffian character with the tricks of a Ulysses. In this book he retains his braggadocio but more often is a combat leader and insightful diplomat. There is an odd moment when he appears to lead a very threatening dissatisfaction with a decision by King but he is forgiven his independence. Because of the way Zagloba transforms from a figure of fun- as found early in book I into an important leader halfway into book II, Zagloba is established as a more complex figure, and more of an interesting study than either Falstaff or Ulysses.
The Deluge is an action filled adventure and a worthy continuation middle book. In fact it avoids the typical middle book problem of being the tie from book 1 to book 3. It stands alone well. Sienkiewicz continues to do an interesting job making his heroes less-than-perfect his villains not entirely despicable. He also continues to clutter his text with too many details. There is a serious effort for this to be historical fiction but it is fiction. As with book 1 I found it necessary to read this book in relatively short takes. More so than in With Fire and Sword I found myself rushing to return to and complete The Deluge.
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