STORIES ROOTED IN THE COLD, HARD TRUTH OF HISTORY
Intriguing Tales of Historical Fiction:
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My Latest Title:"The Life of Marek Zaczek Vol. 1, Under the Wings of Eagles"
Marek is born during the times of the Partition of Poland and grows over the next 25 years wanting only to become a cavalier for his country.
Polish American Journal Reviews of "Marek Zaczek"
Book Review by Barbara Betljewska from November 2020 PAJ and Mary E. Lanham from December 2020
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POLISH AMERICAN JOURNAL REVIEW by Barbara Betljewska
November Issue
The Life of Marek Zaczek Volume 1 Under the Wings of Eagles is a historical novel of a peasant boy named Marek. He is born in southern Poland on a Polish Duke's estate (folwark) just outside the village of Wieliczka in 1772, right on the eve of the first of three Partitions of Poland. The novel follows Marek as he grows to become a man of twenty-five. If your grandparents come from Southern Poland, as mine do, you will never visit or think of the famous salt mine of Wieliczka, six miles south of Krakow, in the same fashion ever again. The image of Marek's father laboring in servitude under horribly abusive conditions mining salt will come to mind. Excavations in this Royal salt mine began in the 13th century and continued until 2007. Wieliczka is one of the world's oldest operating salt mines, a 1978 UNESCO World Heritage site, and one of the top tourist attractions of Poland. If you take a tour and walk among the grottoes and see the incredibly beautiful salt chapels filled with salt sculptures, you will think of Polish peasants (such as some of my ancestors, no doubt) toiling endlessly in the salty and dusty near darkness. The peasant miners would often spend an entire week underground, often only emerging on Saturday. They would carve the sculptures in the evenings as a way to tolerate their miserable work lives. Marek's father would often bring him a cleverly carved salt toy.
Although his father wants him to become a miner since choice of occupation for peasants is severely limited, Marek shows talent as an equestrian on the Duke's estate, imitating the legendary Winged Hussars of Poland. Many issues are addressed in the book, particularly the rampant political intrigue among the Polish nobility jockeying for power amidst the theft and eventual obliteration of Poland by Russia, Prussia, and Austria, which actually lasted until 1918. Difficult topics such as sexual abuse and sexual promiscuity are described, along with daily life under Austrian oppression, the damage that untold family secrets can cause, and a love story with some unusual twists.
The book is quite lengthy, and is well worth reading for the historical and cultural background and the intertwined story often keeps one glued to the page. Trawinski is an author who certainly writes "intriguing tales of historical fiction" as his web-site mentions. And it is a fun way to help discover/re-discover our Polish heritage. This is the first volume of three, so we will all have to wait to read about the rest of Marek's life when the other volumes appear.
Barbara Betlejewska
Polish American Journal
November 2020
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Polish American Journal Review By Mary E. Lanham
Women Shine in Trawinski's "The Life of Marek Zaczek"
Set against the backdrop of late eighteenth-century Poland, is the first volume of the life of Marek Zaczek by well-known Polish American author David Trawinski. In this volume, the protagonist comes of age during the turbulent times of the partitions of Poland.
Born into a peasant's life on the estate of a duke, Marek Zaczek seems fated to work in a salt mine. As he grows up watching the duke's horses, he develops s love for the animals and soon has his heart set on working with them. As he matures, he becomes infatuated with the idea of becoming like the great winged Hussars.
Marek has aspirations that are above his station, but what he doesn't know about his origins would change his world forever. Marek's mother keeps secrets from him that will turn their lives and the lives of his grandparents upside-down and inside-out. Magda,as his mother is known, is the daughter of a noble couple who were exiled to Russia.The other secret is the truth of Marek's parentage, which she cannot bring herself to reveal to him.
The novel illustrates the cruel way some nobles exerted their power over the peasants that worked their land; The duke viewed the peasants on his estate as his property, which Magda bravely contradicts. Although this novel focuses on Marek, the women in the book, especially Magda, shine as resilient characters as they rally against the hardships they are forced to endure at the hands of men.
To give a larger view of the tumultuous times, Trawinski has the characters of the duke and Count Von Arndt, an acquaintance of the duke, discuss and expound upon the changing world order. With this, the author sets the stage for his cast of assorted characters.
Mary E. Lanham
Polish American Journal
December 2020
My Latest Novel
"The Life of Marek Zaczek Volume 1 : Under The Wings of Eagles"
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1772 - 1797: A Peasant Boy Grows to be a Man in One of the Most Incredible Periods of World History
This twenty-five year period was one of the most eventful in world history, with three major and most remarkable changes to the status quo. First, in North America, the American Colonists successfully wrest their independence from Britain, with France shortly afterwards tearing itself asunder in the bloodiest Revolution Europe had, up until that time, ever faced. Finally, further east, the Empires of Russia, Prussia and Austria consume the independent Commonwealth of Poland-Lithuania in three criminal partitions.
All the while, a peasant boy born amidst the snowy fields of an estate near the town of Wieliczka, just south of Kraków, grows to become a man. His father works in the salt mines, and his mother as a servant in the Duke's manor house. As Marek grows, he dreams only of three things: the past power of the once feared Polish Winged Hussars; to one day ride into battle as an Uhlan cavalier for his country; and to gain the hand in marriage of his beloved Maya Manuska.
This novel is rich in characters from the fictional Marek, his conflicted mother Magda, the greedy Szlachta Duke Sdanowicz, and the Austrian Count Maximilian Von Arndt to the historical figures of Catherine the Great of Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Maria Theresa of Austria. Also, the Europeans who were to crucial in the success of America's Revolution - Casmir Pułaski, Tadeusz Kościuszko, and the Marquis de LaFayette - are all here as well. Marek Zaczek Vol. 1 guarantees an exciting and memorable read that will keep you on the edge of whatever seat you most enjoy reading in!
