Iermola

Kraszewski, Józef Ignacy, 1812-1887Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 393K words
Chapters: 40

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Iermola by Józef Ignacy KraszewskiAuthor: Kraszewski, Józef Ignacy, 1812-1887,Language: English, Class: PG: Language and Literatures: Slavic (including Russian), Languages and Literature, Release Date: Oct 4, 2011

Editor's review

Iermola is a novel by the Polish author Kraszewski, included in Project Gutenberg and presented in English. Kraszewski was an important and prolific 19th-century Polish novelist whose works often use rural and aristocratic life as a background and focus on individual fate amid social change. This book unfolds its narrative around the protagonist, and the plot carries observations on human nature, class, and morality, belonging to the more realistic, socially concerned strand of the Slavic literary tradition. As a public-domain e-book, it has a low barrier to access and is suitable as an entry point to Eastern European literature, especially the Polish novel tradition. Reading it need not pursue fast pacing; it is better savored in quiet moments, appreciating the characters' situations and the narrator's social perspective; for readers studying 19th-century Central and Eastern European social conditions, the book can also provide some fictionalized material. Note that the English translation is distant from the language sense of Chinese readers, and first-time readers should understand the general historical background before entering the text.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in Polish and Eastern European literature who want to expand their reading map
Readers who enjoy 19th-century realistic fiction and care about social and human issues
Learners needing public-domain English texts for literary or translation practice
General readers hoping to access classic novels through low-cost e-books

Not a good fit for

Readers who prefer strong plots and fast-paced genre fiction
First-time readers lacking patience for English long sentences and 19th-century narrative methods
Readers who want only Chinese translations and are unwilling to engage with English originals

Reading tips

First understand the 19th-century Polish social background, then enter the text; understanding will be smoother.
Read one or two chapters a day, paying attention to the characters' situations and the narrator's social commentary.
Take notes on unfamiliar cultural backgrounds as you go, and review character relationships after finishing.
If the purpose is learning English, choose a passage for close reading and take notes on sentence structure.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?

According to Project Gutenberg information, the language of this book is English, and it is a public-domain e-book. Chinese readers face an English translation when reading; those who want a Chinese version need to look separately for Chinese translation materials.

Who is the author Kraszewski?

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (1812–1887) was a Polish novelist. The materials indicate only his birth and death years and his identity as the author of this book, without providing more biographical details; readers may consult reliable literary history sources separately.

Can I read it without a foundation in Eastern European literature?

You can read it, but it is advisable to first understand the general background of 19th-century Polish society. The novel's narration is rather realistic, and character relationships and the social environment are key to understanding; a little background preparation can significantly lower the reading threshold.

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About the author

Kraszewski, Józef Ignacy, 1812-1887 Author

Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (1812–1887) was a Polish novelist of astonishing output, whose work spans historical fiction, social novels and political writing. Public information on the details of his life is limited, but the four works held here reveal the focus of his writing: The Jew and Iermola draw on the life of Jewish communities and local society in Poland and Eastern Europe, while The Countess Cosel: A Romance of History of the Times of Augustus the Strong and Count Brühl centre on the Saxon court politics and personal fortunes of the reigns of Augustus II and Augustus III. His historical novels are distinguished by solid historical detail and complex human relationships, weaving court intrigue together with everyday town life; his social fiction observes ethnic relations and the circumstances of ordinary people with a fine, close brush. His style is realist in inclination, with a leisurely narrative pace, and he had a lasting influence on the popularisation of the nineteenth-century Polish historical novel.