Be'Esh uveKherev [= With Fire and Sword. Origial Polish title: ogniem i mieczem ]

Sienkiewicza, Henryka

Published by A.I. Sztybla A.I. Stiebel, Warsaw Warszawa, 1919

About this Item

In Hebrew. four volumes set. 240, 259, 259, 192 pages. 220 x 148 mm. With an almost century-old library stamp of Jewish homeless shelter in East Harlem, when East Harlem was a Jewish neighborhood. Many of the churches you see there today have telltale signs that they were constructed as synagogues. The book offered here is an historical novel first published in 1884. The novel has been adapted as a film several times, most recently in 1999. It is set in the 17th century in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Bohdan Chmielnicki (Khmelnytsky) Uprising. Khemelnytsky is revered by Poles as a national hero, and is despised by Jews for his horrific wholesale slaughter of countless innocent Jewish men, women and children in the 1640s. The murder of Jews by Poles did not start (or end) during the German occupation of Poland during World War II. This book was initially serialized in several Polish newspapers, chapters appearing in weekly installments. It gained enormous popularity in Poland, and by the turn of the 20th century had become one of the most popular Polish books ever. It became obligatory reading in Polish schools, and has been translated into English and most European languages. The series was a vehicle for expressing Polish patriotism in a Poland partitioned and deprived of independence. Despite some deviations, the book's historical framework is genuine and the fictional story is woven into real events. Many characters are historical figures, including Jeremi Wisniowiecki and Bohdan Khmelnytsky (Polish: Bohdan Chmielnicki). Sienkiewicz researched memoirs and chronicles of the Polish nobility, or szlachta, for details on life in 17th-century Poland. The book was written, according to the author, "to lift up the heart" of the Polish nation in the unhappy period following the failed January Uprising during the era of the partitions of Poland. Thus it often favors epic plots and heroic scenes over historical accuracy. Nonetheless, Sienkiewicz's vivid language made it one of the most popular books about that particular place and era. Seller Inventory # 012921

Bibliographic Details

Title: Be'Esh uveKherev [= With Fire and Sword. ...

Publisher: A.I. Sztybla A.I. Stiebel, Warsaw Warszawa

Publication Date: 1919

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Very Good

Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket