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Gordana #1
Proročanstvo na Kamenitim vratima
Nemir obuzima ljude. Gordana je sa svojim suborcem ujahala pod kraljevsku tribinu. Snažnim zamahom mača pozdravlja kraljevski par. Tamnozelenu odoru pokriva gvozdeni oklop. Na glavi joj šljem s crvenim perom. Bademaste oči mirno zaokružuju svečanu skupinu kraljevskih odličnika dvorana i dvoranki. Svima se smiješi, svakog pogleda i svakom šalje veseli, vedri, bezbrižni pozdrav. Lijepa je, samosvjesna i nasmijana.
- Kamene li djevojke - ushićeno usklikne Lovro Iločki.
- Kao da je sestra svetog Jurja, a kći vile!
- Tiše - šapne ban - kralj je ne voli!
- Kamene li djevojke - ushićeno usklikne Lovro Iločki.
- Kao da je sestra svetog Jurja, a kći vile!
- Tiše - šapne ban - kralj je ne voli!
639 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2013
8 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
About the author
Marija Jurić Zagorka
86 books310 followersMarija Jurić Zagorka was a Croatian journalist, novelist and dramatist, the first female journalist and second in the list of most popular Croatian writers of all time (by the 2005 poll compiled by Vjesnik, a Zagreb daily newspaper). Many of her works have been adapted to film.
She was born in the village of Negovec near Vrbovec, to a well-standing family, which allowed her a good education, but in spite of her talent and many gifts, her parents decided to end her education early and, soon after leaving school, married her off to a man whom she barely knew, a Hungarian railway clerk 18 years her senior. The marriage ended abruptly with her escape from the house, first to Sremska Mitrovica and then to Zagreb, due to her husband's and mother-in-law's abuse.
It was in Zagreb that she began her career as a journalist, which was a highly unusual career for a woman in those days, and because of that, she was frowned upon, humiliated and prejudiced against her entire life. She was forced to write anonymously, under pseudonyms that hid her gender, and hide herself at work so nobody would notice there was a woman writing for (and later running) a newspaper. This didn't stop her from being politically involved, fighting against the Germanization and Magyarization of Croatia, and fighting for the rights of women, which caused her considerable problems in life, both professionally and privately.
Urged by Bishop Strossmayer, Zagorka began writing historic novels, usually set in 16th, 17th and 18th century Croatia. She instantly became popular amongst the people, who endearingly called her "The Fairy of Zagorje" (upon publishing Grička vještica) and "Queen of Croatians" (upon publishing Gordana: Kraljica Hrvata). The critics and her colleagues, however, constantly put her down, ridiculed her work, slurred her as a person and as a writer, and deliberately ignored her in literary magazines and almanacs. Still, she kept on writing and published her works as a part of her newspaper so they would be affordable to the general public, adapted her own and the works of August Šenoa for theater, ran two magazines "Ženski list" (1925- 1938) and "Hrvatica" (1938-1940) addressed to the female public, and with her young female colleagues formed the Society of Croatian Female Writers.
Upon the formation of Independent State of Croatia, the magazine "Hrvatica" was forcibly canceled and her entire estate is taken from her, leaving her without means to support herself. Desperate, Zagorka attempted suicide, but luckily survived. Living in Zagreb, she saw the end of WWII thanks to the financial help and care of her loyal public. Despite her age and weak health, she continued fighting for the rights of women, even though it earned her the ridicule and animosity of her male colleagues, who repeatedly called her "a madwoman" and "mannish old hag", until the day of her death.
None of her novels have been translated into English, but two are available in German: Grička vještica and Malleus maleficarum. 11 of her novels, published in Croatian, are found in the Library of Congress. The exact number of the novels she has written is unknown, but it is presumed that she wrote around 35, some of which are lost forever.
She was born in the village of Negovec near Vrbovec, to a well-standing family, which allowed her a good education, but in spite of her talent and many gifts, her parents decided to end her education early and, soon after leaving school, married her off to a man whom she barely knew, a Hungarian railway clerk 18 years her senior. The marriage ended abruptly with her escape from the house, first to Sremska Mitrovica and then to Zagreb, due to her husband's and mother-in-law's abuse.
It was in Zagreb that she began her career as a journalist, which was a highly unusual career for a woman in those days, and because of that, she was frowned upon, humiliated and prejudiced against her entire life. She was forced to write anonymously, under pseudonyms that hid her gender, and hide herself at work so nobody would notice there was a woman writing for (and later running) a newspaper. This didn't stop her from being politically involved, fighting against the Germanization and Magyarization of Croatia, and fighting for the rights of women, which caused her considerable problems in life, both professionally and privately.
Urged by Bishop Strossmayer, Zagorka began writing historic novels, usually set in 16th, 17th and 18th century Croatia. She instantly became popular amongst the people, who endearingly called her "The Fairy of Zagorje" (upon publishing Grička vještica) and "Queen of Croatians" (upon publishing Gordana: Kraljica Hrvata). The critics and her colleagues, however, constantly put her down, ridiculed her work, slurred her as a person and as a writer, and deliberately ignored her in literary magazines and almanacs. Still, she kept on writing and published her works as a part of her newspaper so they would be affordable to the general public, adapted her own and the works of August Šenoa for theater, ran two magazines "Ženski list" (1925- 1938) and "Hrvatica" (1938-1940) addressed to the female public, and with her young female colleagues formed the Society of Croatian Female Writers.
Upon the formation of Independent State of Croatia, the magazine "Hrvatica" was forcibly canceled and her entire estate is taken from her, leaving her without means to support herself. Desperate, Zagorka attempted suicide, but luckily survived. Living in Zagreb, she saw the end of WWII thanks to the financial help and care of her loyal public. Despite her age and weak health, she continued fighting for the rights of women, even though it earned her the ridicule and animosity of her male colleagues, who repeatedly called her "a madwoman" and "mannish old hag", until the day of her death.
None of her novels have been translated into English, but two are available in German: Grička vještica and Malleus maleficarum. 11 of her novels, published in Croatian, are found in the Library of Congress. The exact number of the novels she has written is unknown, but it is presumed that she wrote around 35, some of which are lost forever.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 26, 2014
I just had to
Gordana ♥ Damir
April 4, 2020
Prvi put čitam Gordanu i mogu reći da mi se 1. knjiga stvarno svidjela. Ispočetka malo mi je bilo teško 'ufurati' se u knjigu no nakon određenog dijela kad god bih krenula čitati radnja te samo uvuče i ne možeš prestati čitati. Puno preokreta, dosta napeta radnja i zanimljivi likovi, iako na dijelovima je knjiga bila spora. Mislim da Zagorka jako dobro piše no nekima će možda isprva biti malo čudno - pisanje djeluje pomalo kao drama, a ne roman. Također, nadam se da će tempo druge knjige biti malo brži.
Ipak, topla preporuka svima koji vole povijesne knjige i intrige starih kraljevskih dvorova!
Ipak, topla preporuka svima koji vole povijesne knjige i intrige starih kraljevskih dvorova!
December 21, 2022
4.5 Naučila sam više o prevarama u ovoj knjizi nego od vlastite meni majke tako se sa velikom poniznošću bacam na koljena ovoj knjizi. Princ Ivan je pravi primjer Edipovog kompleksa sa najnižom emocionalnom inteligencijom ikad viđenog u jednog polu Hrvata! Niti pod koju cijenu se ne može usporediti sa lukavošću i pameti mojoj Gordani, a Damir itekako treba na psihijatriju da se odvoji od Ivana. Srce mi kuca za njega i Gordanu, ali mladić treba hitru pomoć. Kraj ove knjige je najveća uvreda koju je moja duša ikad zatekla. Molim da mi se isporuči druga knjiga brzotečom koji je toliko brz da i borbe Milanovića i Plenkovića može preduhitriti.
February 9, 2016
Wonderful book!
This is actually one of my mother's favourite books, she read it when she was a teenager and she passed it on to me.I have 8 parts at my home and I'm planning on rereading them(...again). The atmosphere,the characters (who doesn't love Damir?),their adventures and struggles are just mesmerizing.I would recommend it to everyone!
My mom's collection:
This is actually one of my mother's favourite books, she read it when she was a teenager and she passed it on to me.I have 8 parts at my home and I'm planning on rereading them(...again). The atmosphere,the characters (who doesn't love Damir?),their adventures and struggles are just mesmerizing.I would recommend it to everyone!
My mom's collection:
April 12, 2022
Knjiga mi je na početku bila malo dosadna, nisam imala puno vremema za čitanje nje prije ali sam ju uspjela pročitat. Jako me oduševila na kraju sa tim preokretom, da nemam sutra ispit iz povijesti, sada bi taman počela čitat drugi dio haha
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 26, 2018
"Tko od sreće traži više nego što mu ona podijeli, mogao bi izgubiti i ono što mu je dobrovoljno podijelila."
July 6, 2025
15. st
vladavina hrvatsko-ugarskoga kralja Matije Korvina, njegovoj smrti...
vladavina hrvatsko-ugarskoga kralja Matije Korvina, njegovoj smrti...
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews