With Fire and Sword

About “With Fire and Sword”

In the seventeenth century Polish Commonwealth, growing tensions between the nobility and the less privileged led to widespread unrest. This conflict culminated in the Cossacks rising against the Polish nobility, sparking a violent struggle that affected the entire country. The novel portrays the heroism and suffering of both the knights and the hetmans caught in the conflict. Henryk Sienkiewicz, a journalist and editor, wrote With Fire and Sword as part of a trilogy about the Khmelnytsky Uprising. The book blends fictional characters with historical events, depicting the violence and grievances of all sides involved. Though some question the fairness of its portrayal, the novel remains a significant work of historical fiction. The novel was widely popular in Poland and was adapted into a film in 1999. This edition uses the 1898 translation by Jeremiah Curtin, who also translated Sienkiewicz’s Quo Vadis.