Józef Ignacy Kraszewski
Born(1812-07-28)28 July 1812
Warsaw, Duchy of Warsaw, Poland
Died19 March 1887(1887-03-19) (aged 74)
Geneva, Switzerland
OccupationNovelist, journalist and historian
LanguagePolish
NationalityPolish
Period19th century
Notable worksStara Baśń (An Ancient Tale, 1876)

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (28 July 1812 – 19 March 1887) was a Polish writer, publisher, historian, journalist, scholar, painter, and author who produced more than 200 novels and 150 novellas, short stories, and art reviews, which makes him the most prolific writer in the history of Polish literature. He is best known for his epic series on the history of Poland, comprising twenty-nine novels in seventy-nine parts.

Biography

He was born in Warsaw on 28 July 1812 to a family of the Polish nobility (szlachta).[1][2] He was the oldest son of Jan Kraszewski and Zofia Kraszewska, and had four siblings.[1][3]: 145 

From 1822 to 1826 he attended a high school in Biała Podlaska (the Biała Academy); in 1826 to 1827 a school in Lublin, and in 1829 he graduated from a school in Svislach (the Svislach gymnasium), passing his matura exams there. From 1829 he studied medicine, then literature and arts, at the Vilna University. 1831 marked his literary debut with the novel Pan Walery.[2] There he became involved in a pro-Polish independence movement, supportive of the November Uprising of 1830. As a result, he was arrested on December 3 ord that year and imprisoned until 18 March 1832.[1] After his release, he had to live under police supervision in Vilna, but was allowed to go to his father's estate in Doŭhaje (Dołhe) near Pruzhany in Volhynia the following year.[1] In 1835 he was selected to join the faculty of Kiev University as the professor of Polish language, but the nomination was vetoed by the Russian government which considered him politically suspect.[1] In 1838 he married Zofia Woroniczówna, niece of Jan Paweł Woronicz, the former Bishop of Warsaw; they'd have four children.[1] After marriage Kraszewski leased a farming estate in the village of Omelno; eventually he would also be a landowner in several nearby villages (Gródek, Hubin and Kisiele).[1] In 1839, he published his first important work, the novel Poeta i świat (The Poet and the World).

Between 1841 and 1851, in Vilna, he published the literary and scientific journal Athenaeum. When this failed, he returned to Warsaw, where he became a contributor to the Gazeta Warszawska, in addition to his other writing. In 1853, in an effort to better support and educate his four children, they moved to Zofia's inherited family estate near Zhytomyr, where he became a school superintendent and, in 1856, director of the local theatre. He also dealt with the issue of serfdom, and was a member of the "Committee for the Liberation of the Peasant Estate"; advocating in favor of land grants. This was met with strong opposition and threats. As a result of his increasing disgust for the local nobility, he went back to Warsaw in February of 1860,[1] apparently leaving his family in Zhytomyr, and taking over the editorship of the Gazeta Polska. Around that time he was becoming quite well known as a prolific writer.[1] He was also offered a professorship at the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, but this was again vetoed by the Russian authorities.[1]

In 1861, he became a member of the Delegacja Miejska, a secret organization, preparing for the revolution. Following the January Uprising, he fled Warsaw on 3 February 1863 to avoid being exiled to Siberia.[1] His family, including wife and children, remained in Poland and Russia, and he would be supporting them financially for many years.[2] His intention was to live in France, but he stopped when he reached Dresden, where he met many of his fellow revolutionaries, and was involved in relief efforts for Polish refugees. In Dresden he published a weekly Tydzień Polityczny, Naukowy, Literacki i Artystyczny, although after a while he gave up on this endeavour due to financial difficulties.[1] He remained there until 1868, when he began travelling; to Switzerland, Italy, France and Belgium. Later, he published an account of his travels: Reiseblätter (Travel Sheets).

His application for Saxon citizenship was approved in 1869. In 1873 he decided to become full-time writer, and this year alone he wrote ten novels and two academic texts.[2] He acquired some property, with a garden, and lived there until 1879, when he was able to afford a larger property. In 1879 he celebrated the 50th anniversary of his literary career in several cities in Europe, including in Kraków in a large event during which he received the honorary degrees from Jagiellonian University as well as the Lviv University,[1][2] In 1880 he attempted to travel to Warsaw but was denied permission by the Russian authorities.[1] He lived in Saxony until 1883, when he was arrested, while visiting Berlin, and accused of working for the French secret service.[1] After being tried by the Reichsgericht in Leipzig in May 1884, he was sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment in Magdeburg (in the Madgeburg fortress).[1][2] The case was seen as political, since Kraszewski was a vocal critic of German chancellor Otto von Bismarck, and Bismarck saw this as an opportunity to deal a blow to the Polish faction in Germany,and even personally advocated a death sentence for the writer.[2] Due to poor health, high profile of the case covered in contemporary European press, and requests from clemency from Kraszewski's friends in high places (such as prince Antoni Wilhelm Radziwiłł and king of Italy, Umberto I), he was released on bail after year and a half in 1885.[1][2]

Rather than remain in Magdeburg, as required, he moved to a new home in Sanremo, Italy; where he hoped to recuperate in peace. This, however, violated the terms of his release and led to the German government issuance of an arrest warrant for him.[1][2] When the possibility of extradition arose, he decided to move to Lausanne, Switzerland, where he bought a new house; however, he never arrived in it - he died in Geneva, from pneumonia, on 19 March 1887,[1][2] four days after his arrival there. His remains were transferred to Kraków, and after a large funeral on 18 April 1887 he was interred at "Saint Michael the Archangel and Saint Stanislaus the Bishop and Martyr Basilica", commonly known as "Skałka" in the Crypt of Merit.[1]

Works

He is credited with over 600 works, including 223 novels[1] and many short stories. He is considered one of the most prolific Polish writers, and one of the first whose works were widely translated.[1] His best-known works are the six "Saxon Novels", written between 1873 and 1883 in Dresden. Together, they create a detailed history of the Electorate of Saxony, from 1697 to 1763.

In addition to being a writer, he was also an illustrator (he illustrated many of his works) and a painter.[1]

The first of his books to be adapted for film was Hrabina Cosel, resulting in Gräfin Cosel (1968), directed by Jerzy Antczak, with Jadwiga Barańska in the title role. Twenty years later, in East Germany, the DEFA presented a six-part television series, the Saxon Trilogy, including a new version of Gräfin Cosel, directed by Hans-Joachim Kasprzik.

Remembrance

Since 1960, his former home in Dresden has been the Kraszewski-Museum.

Another museum dedicated to him was opened in 1962 in Romanów (the Józef Ignacy Kraszewski Museum in Romanów).[1]

Selected works

Józef (right), with his brothers Lucjan (left) and Kajetan (middle)
An illustration from Stara baśń, by Michał Elwiro Andriolli (1879)

The Saxon Novels

  • König August der Starke (Augustus II the Strong), Aufbau TV, 1999. ISBN 978-3-7466-1309-3.
  • Gräfin Cosel (Anna Constantia von Brockdorff), Aufbau TV, 2012. ISBN 978-3-7466-2780-9. Translated into English as Countess Cosel; by the Comte de Soissons, Skomlin Ltd., 2017. ISBN 978-0-9874014-0-3.
  • Feldmarschall Flemming (Jacob Heinrich von Flemming), Aufbau TV, 2001. ISBN 3-7466-1310-8.
  • Graf Brühl (Heinrich von Brühl), Aufbau TV, 2000. ISBN 978-3-7466-1306-2. Translated into English as Count Brühl, by the Comte de Soissons, Skomlin Ltd., 2017. ISBN 978-0-9874014-1-0.
  • Aus dem Siebenjährigen Krieg, Aufbau TV, 2000. ISBN 978-3-7466-1308-6.
  • Der Gouverneur von Warschau, Aufbau TV, 2003. ISBN 978-3-7466-1311-6.

Other novels

  • 1839: Poeta i świat (The Poet and the World), Universitas, Lesser-Known Classics Series, 2002. ISBN 83-242-0099-1. Gustav, a poor poet, finds his sensibilities at odds with everyday life.
  • 1840: Mistrz Twardowski (Master Twardowski), reissued by Nabu Press, 2010. ISBN 978-1-1444-9621-8. A sorcerer makes a deal with the Devil.
  • 1841: Chata za wsią (The Cottage outside the Village), Wolne Lektury, 2012. ISBN 978-83-288-0418-0. A complicated romance that gives a realistic picture of Gypsy life and its conflicts with the prevailing culture.
  • 1842: Ulana, Ossolineum, 1996. ISBN 83-905811-1-6. A young nobleman, tired of the city, goes to live in a small village, where he falls in love with a peasant girl.
  • 1843: Latarnia czarnoksięska (The Magic Lantern), Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1989. ISBN 83-08-01899-8. Stanisław, a naïve young man, comes from abroad to live with relatives in Volhynia, then becomes bored and moves to Warsaw, meeting numerous characters along the way.
  • 1845: Ostap Bondarczuk, Ludowa Spoldzielnia Wydawnicza, 1985. ISBN 978-83-205-3763-5. The story of an orphan, in a village of serfs in Ukraine, during the Napoleonic wars.
  • 1846: Zygmuntowskie czasy (Sigismund's Times), MG, 2011. ISBN 978-83-612-9759-8. A 16th-century tale about the adventures of a boy who goes to Kraków as a novice.
  • 1847: Budnik (The Building), Wolne Lektury, 2013. ISBN 978-83-288-0414-2. A rural tale of foresters and home builders; their families and relationships.
  • 1874: Morituri (Latin: About to Die), Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1986. ISBN 83-08-01419-4. A cautionary tale about the fall of a noble family in post-partition Poland.
  • 1876: Stara baśń (An Ancient Tale), MG, 2018. ISBN 83-7779-486-1. A story of political intrigues in pre-Christian Poland.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Tarkowski, Paweł. "KRASZEWSKI Józef Ignacy (1812-1887), pisarz, publicysta, wydawca, historyk, rysownik". Słownik biograficzny Południowego Podlasia i Wschodniego Mazowsza. Uniwersytet Przyrodniczo-Humanistyczny w Siedlcach. Retrieved 3 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Grzywacz, Marta (18 July 2016). "Józef Ignacy Kraszewski: osobisty wróg Bismarcka. Historia szpiegowska". Gazeta Wyborcza.
  3. ↑ Antkowiak, Zygmunt (1982). Patroni ulic Wrocławia (in Polish). Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich. ISBN 978-83-04-00995-0. Jan i Zofia mieli pięcioro dzieci, z których Józef Ignacy był najstarszy

Sources

  • Elżbieta Szymańska/Joanna Magacz: Kraszewski-Museum in Dresden, Warschau 2006. ISBN 83-89378-13-2
  • Zofia Wolska-Grodecka/Brigitte Eckart: Kraszewski-Museum in Dresden, Warschau 1996. ISBN 83-904307-3-8
  • Elżbieta Szymańska/Ulrike Bäumer: Andenken an das Kraszewski-Museum in Dresden, ACGM Lodart, 2000
  • Victor Krellmann: "Liebesbriefe mit ebenholzschwarzer Tinte. Der polnische Dichter Kraszewski im Dresdner Exil", In: Philharmonische Blätter 1/2004, Dresden 2004.
  • Friedrich Scholz: Die Literaturen des Baltikums. Ihre Entstehung und Entwicklung. Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen 1990. ISBN 3-531-05097-4
  • Henryk Szczepański: Gwiazdy i legendy dawnych Katowic – Sekrety Załęskiego Przedmieścia. Katowice: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Śląsk, 2015. ISBN 978-83-7164-860-1
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