(webzine “ Kultura. Natsyja”, issue 28, November 2021, 184-238, www.sakavik.net)

I hereby present to the readers of Kuktura. Natsyia the translation of Polish writer Henryk Zhavuski’s (1791-1866) novel entitled November. This is a piece of writing dealing with historical themes during the time of the last Polish king, Stanislav Avgust Paniatouski. The book’s subject material relates to the span of years from 1760 to 1780. It is of interest to any Belarusian reader because the narrative takes place on Belarusian soil that include geographical places such as Niasvizh, Slutsk and their surrounding territories. It describes to the reader the lives and times of two nobleman who happen to be brothers, Mikhal and Liudvik. One of them was raised according to ancient Polatsk (sometimes called “Sarmatski”) traditions while the other was raised under the influence of western culture which had entered Poland from France and Germany. Limits of this internet journal do not allow us to introduce to you, the reader, the fullest underlying realities of the action described nor to fully lay out the historical background on which the described events take place. The author did include such details in his descriptive writings but he also assumed that his readers (keeping mind that his work was published from 1845 to 1946) knew full well the history of Poland and thus were well aware of Karal Radzivil, Panie Kakhanka, Stanislav Paniatouski and other historical figures who are presented in his novel as purely literary personalities.

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Categories: Гісторыя, Літаратура, Uncategorized