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Gordana #11
Veliki sud
620 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2013
3 people are currently reading
84 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 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 28, 2019
Iza mene je pretposljednji dio književnog serijala “Gordana”. Ljubavna nadanja, vjera junaka, podmuklost neprijatelja i zveket mačeva iskaču iz skoro svake stranice ovog romana. Sve ono čemu sam se nadao od Zagorke, kao sada već vrsni poznavalac njenog književnog opusa, dočekalo me i u ovom nastavku. Međutim, po raspletu jedne od ključnih situacija moguće je vidjeti da je autorica pisala pod pritiskom urednika novina u kojima su njeni romani objavljivani u nastavcima. Zbog toga smo kao čitaoci uskraćeni raspleta u dužini od minimalno jednog poglavlja, kako to određeni likovi zaslužuju. Naposljetku, u pitanju je Zagorka, koja od svega najbolje umije prekinuti pripovijedanje onda kada je ono najzanimljivije. Dok posežem za posljednjim, dvanaestim nastavkom, pitam se: Želim li kraj?
August 26, 2025
Vilena bježi od lažca Slavimira Draženića
Gordana & Damir se vratio iz rata s Turcima
Gordana :"Upamtite, nijedna opačina na svijetu ne može ostati nekažnjena. Nikad nije ostala nekažnjena.
Svakog dana ljudi površno i lako umnogome propuštaju opaziti Veliki sud.
nad svačijem se opačinom izvršava taj sud. To je kazna."
"Razmišljate o svem uni pravedno dijelite sebi i drugima.Spoznajte sve velike i male krivnje pa onda izgradite u svojoj duši budem. Iza njega možete se braniti protiv slabosti svojih i tuđih, a tako i protiv lakoumnosti koja obuzima ljude kad su sretni. Gledajte budno oko sebe i naći ćete svakog dana dokaze kako se besprekidno krojili sud pravde."
Gordana & Damir se vratio iz rata s Turcima
Gordana :"Upamtite, nijedna opačina na svijetu ne može ostati nekažnjena. Nikad nije ostala nekažnjena.
Svakog dana ljudi površno i lako umnogome propuštaju opaziti Veliki sud.
nad svačijem se opačinom izvršava taj sud. To je kazna."
"Razmišljate o svem uni pravedno dijelite sebi i drugima.Spoznajte sve velike i male krivnje pa onda izgradite u svojoj duši budem. Iza njega možete se braniti protiv slabosti svojih i tuđih, a tako i protiv lakoumnosti koja obuzima ljude kad su sretni. Gledajte budno oko sebe i naći ćete svakog dana dokaze kako se besprekidno krojili sud pravde."
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews