The Deluge: Volume II

by Henryk Sienkiewicz, W.S. Kuniczak (Translator)

This two-volume work is the sequel to "With Fire and Sword," a massive book called one of the greatest in European literature. "The Deluge" continues the sweeping saga of war and rebellion that threatened the kingdom of Poland and changed the face of Eastern Europe in the 17th Century. This historical novel of Poland, Sweden and Russia, is a masterful blend of history and imagination, filled with nonstop action and adventure. Sienkiewicz's work is the sweeping saga of a nation caught in the throes of a civil war, of a people struggling for survival, and of events that forever changed the face of Eastern Europe. Number two in his trilogy on the history of Poland, it tells the love story of a man and a woman tragically separated by foolishness, pride, confusion and the Swedish invasion of Poland in the 1500s which divided a nation against itself and drew the best and worst out of its citizens.

Henryk (Adam Alexander Pius) Sienkiewicz (1846-1916) was a novelist, born in Wola Okrzejska, Poland. He studied at Warsaw, travelled in the USA, and in the 1870s began to write articles, short stories, and novels. His major work was a war trilogy about 17th-c Poland, beginning with Ogniem i mieczem (1884, With Fire and Sword), but his most widely known book is the story of Rome under Nero, Quo Vadis (1896), several times filmed, notably in 1951 by Mervyn Le Roy (1900-87). He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905.

Genres: Classics, School, Historical Fiction, Polish Literature, Fiction, Audiobook, Adventure

919 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 1991

About the author

Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz (also known as "Litwos"; May 5, 1846–November 15, 1916) was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. He was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his "outstanding merits as an epic writer."

Born into an impoverished gentry family in the Podlasie village of Wola Okrzejska, in Russian-ruled Poland, Sienkiewicz wrote historical novels set during the Rzeczpospolita (Polish Republic, or Commonwealth). His works were noted for their negative portrayal of the Teutonic Order in The Teutonic Knights (Krzyżacy), which was remarkable as a significant portion of his readership lived under German rule. Many of his novels were first serialized in newspapers, and even today are still in print. In Poland, he is best known for his historical novels "With Fire and Sword", "The Deluge", and "Fire in the Steppe" (The Trilogy) set during the 17th-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, while internationally he is best known for Quo Vadis, set in Nero's Rome. Quo Vadis has been filmed several times, most notably the 1951 version.

Sienkiewicz was meticulous in attempting to recreate the authenticity of historical language. In his Trilogy, for instance, he had his characters use the Polish language as he imagined it was spoken in the seventeenth century (in reality it was far more similar to 19th-century Polish than he imagined). In The Teutonic Knights, which relates to the Battle of Grunwald in 1410, he even had his characters speak a variety of medieval Polish which he recreated in part from archaic expressions then still common among the highlanders of Podhale.

In 1881, Sienkiewicz married Maria Szetkiewicz (1854-1885). They had two children, Henryk Józef (1882-1959) and Jadwiga Maria (1883–1969).

Reviews

[Debbie Zapata · Rating 5 out of 5]

May 5, 10pm ~~ Review asap. Moving on right away to Pan Michael, the final volume of The Trilogy!

May 8, noon ~~ Volume 2 of The Deluge concludes the story of the 1650's war between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden. Not a part of history I was familiar with until beginning this series of books, and to tell the truth it must have been a gruesome time to live. So much violence! So much intrigue between those traitorous nobles who made deals with the enemy to betray their homeland. Would they succeed in their evil plans? It seemed so, when much of the country just rolled over and allowed the Swedish king to claim whatever he wanted.

This book continues the focus on Andrei Kmita, who we met in Volume One. Will he see the truth and pick the right road to follow? Will he turn into a true hero or continue being the bad egg he was in the first volume of The Deluge?

Our soldier friends from the other books are here too, with their bristling mustaches, incredible endurance, and love of life. But Kmita is the one we ride with the most. The ending brought tears, it was just so moving.

Now I am starting the final volume of The Trilogy: Pan Michael, which will be all about my favorite knight of all these books, Michael Volodyovski, who I fell in love with when he first showed up. What adventures will he have? The wars continue, of course, they always do. Where will Pan Michael be sent this time? What amazing deeds will he perform? And almost more important, will he find true love? I have 56 long chapters holding the answers to these questions so I'd better get busy reading!

[Malwina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Łoooo, ale mi się to podobało!!

Co tym dziwniejsze, że 1. to najdłuższy tom potopu i 2. środkowe części są zwykle meh, bo robią tylko platformę pod zakończenie.

Strasznie mnie wciągnął ten potop, dosłownie czułam jakbym sama tam siedziała broniąc jasnej góry (najlepszy wątek. kropka.).

slay Sienkiewicz, slay

I SLAY KMICIC ZA TWOJĄ DECYZJĘ NA KOŃCU!!!!!

[Razvan Banciu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slightly too long and descriptive, but nonetheless very interesting, mainly as a piece of real history.
I always wonder what would have been happened if Sienkiewicz have been English, or at least American, not to say French...

[Martyna Jędrych · Rating 5 out of 5]

kmicic daddy

[karolina · Rating 4 out of 5]

ja bym chyba nie mogla byc zolnierzem bo bym sie bala ze umre

ALSO dlaczego trzy postacie nazywaja sie michal a nie ma żadnego np. zygmunta czy cos, serio sienkiewiczowi sie nie chciało wymyslac imion no daj spokój chlopie

[Ady ZYN · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cu greu poți găsi o carte care să te desprindă de realitate și să te introducă într-o lume de mult apusă și plină de trădări, prietenii și violență. Dacă primul volum se desfășoară mai greu și conturează primele deprinderi ale eroilor, în volumul al doilea se întemeiază o metamorfoză a simțirilor care are ca bază adevărata noblețe a sufletului. Luptele acerbe și strădaniile eroilor de a-și salva țara și dragostea nu fac decât să seducă cititorul și să-l transpună în mijlocul acțiunii. Ajungi să trăiești odată cu personajele spaimele și speranțele lor, iar luptele lor devin ale tale. Volumul al doilea este acțiune pură greu de egalat de vreun alt scriitor.

[henszq · Rating 3 out of 5]

Andrzej co ty odpierdalasz? 😵

[karalina813 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kmicic powinien założyć grupę polskich Avengers.

[suzanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5

[Sapphire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shipuje Wołodyjowskiego z Zagłobą
(Nawiasem mówiąc Zagłoba to moja fav postać)

[Joseph O’Reilly Tynan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dearest comrades,
put away the feckless finance books.
Cast off all the frivolous rom-coms.
The self-help books
Set them to fire and sword!!

It is time for you to immerse yourself in 2,000 pages of the 17th-century Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Open the cover and you will find a heart-wrenching tale of heroic courage, love, forgiveness, patriotic piety, and fatherly fortitude. Despair and hope clash throughout the lands of Eastern Europe on a scale I didn’t know existed. And it is all told through the lens of characters that you hold so close to your heart they feel like your own blood.

And in fact they very well might be……I now look at that 10 % Polish on my Ancestry.com with such all-consuming pride that my heart is truly set ablaze, and I might even consider eating a pierogi.
Dearest God, please let Pan Zagłoba be my 13th-great-uncle. What a joyous reunion in heaven that would be.
★★★★★

[madzia · Rating 3 out of 5]

jedna gwiazdka mniej niż pozostałym za obronę jasnej góry (dramat, tragedia, myślałam że umrę, oddajcie wołodyjowskiego)

[Emilybooks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Potop pokrzyżował moje plany czytelnicze na jesień i przeczytałam tylko dwie książki nie będące lekturami
:((
Cieszę się że po tak długim czasie w końcu skończyłam to czytać!!!
I myślałam że będzie gorzej alee zakończenie było spoko i dzięki niemu zmieniałam zdanie.
Chociaż muszę się przyznać że spodziewałam się więcej wątku Oleńki i Kmicica.

[Łucja · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tak jak obiecałam przeczytane przed końcem roku! Teraz jeszcze tylko 3 część i baja.
Fajneee, minus taki że jak się zatrzymałam to nie miałam motywacji żeby wracać i tylko dlatego 3✨ bo tak to by było zdecydowanie więcej ( dałabym 3,5 gdyby było więcej Zagłoby bo w tej części znikł totalnie 😩 )
Ogólnie slay kmicic, a wątek w Częstochowie fav

[jujeoni · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐,5/5
Nie było to najgorsze ale najlepsze też nie

Fajne rzeczy:
- nawrócenie się kmicica
- Jan Kazimierz to giga czad
- radziwił w końcu zdechł
- charłamp w końcu na dobrej stronie
- ksiądz Kordecki był zajebisty i ogółem rozdziały o zajęciu jasnej góry były spoko

[ola! · Rating 3 out of 5]

i do be a slut for soroka tbh

[ALEXXX · Rating 2 out of 5]

Zdecydowanie gorsze od poprzedniej czesci, jedynie obrona Jasnej Góry mi sie podobała i przebiegłość Kmicica

[zzz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5
W KOŃCU TO SKOŃCZYŁAM
kmicic best character development

[Wiktoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kmicic bierz mnie

[Maja · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5⭐
Sił upłynęło wody od kiedym takim afektem do sienkiewiczowych opisów naturae pałała

[Maks Minkowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jasna Góra - czas pokuty!

[Jan Kułak · Rating 5 out of 5]

KOCHAM SIENKIEWICZA

[colin]

idgaf ze przeczytalem tylko fragmenty, za to tez sie nalezy jakas nagroda💔

[James Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Deluge Volume I was a great experience and a walk through the 17th century Poland during the Swedish invasion of 1655-1657. While reading Volume I of The Deluge and after reading With Fire and Sword - the first book in Henryk Sienkiewicz's Trilogy - in W. S. Kuniczak's modern translation, I was reminded of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, which happens to be my favorite book of all time. The first two books of this trilogy are very close seconds. When you read books like these where the characters are emblazon in your conscience and the writing transports you from your world into the story that he is telling, you are meeting every character and living and personally experiencing every adventure as you are walking with them. Volume I was such an experience that I can't wait to start Volume II as soon as I finish this review.
The Deluge is a love story between a man and a woman, and also a love story between men and their country. It is also a story of deception and betrayal and of loyalties kept and broken. Of the king of Poland who is fighting for his survival and the survival of his nation. While he is being attacked and defeated by Russia and The Khmelnytsky Cossacks and the Swedish Deluge (invasion) and the treasonous acts of high ranking nobles and government officials by switching allegiances and surrendering their domains and their subjects to the king of Sweden.
The Deluge Volume I begins about the time of the Sedish invasion, where we are introduced to the historical chapters such as Janusz and Boguslaw Radziwill, cousins and both Polish-Lithuanian nobles, who betray their king and surrender and switch their allegiance to the Swedish King.
And the fictional characters of Andrei Kmiti and the beautiful olenka and their love story that is wrought with obstacles an crimes committed by Andrei who is a brave and courageous soldier who loses his way a few times and finally finds his true north. There are other fictional characters that are loyal to thier king, who will inspire you by their loyalty, decency and courage and bravery.
Volume I ends during the siege of the sacred monastery of Jasna Gora defended by the valiant Father kordetzky and Andrei Kmiti and Pan Pyotr Tcharnyetzky. If you love to read historical fiction, you have to read this book.
On a personal note, I try Not to give away to much in my reviews about the meat of the story, I try to give enough so that you will want to read it yourself and discover all of the fruits for yourself

The Deluge Volume II

Volume II takes us from the Siege of the sacred monastery Yasna Gora by the Swedish General Mueller and the defense of the monastery and withdrawal by the Swedish after their only big siege gun was blown up by Kmiti/Babaneck and his capture and eventual escape. This is the beginning of the end of the Swedish occupation of the Polish Commonwealth. The author is a great story teller, this historical fiction at its best. The battles are realistic and historically accurate. There are fiction characters that play a major role in every battle, under the command of the historical characters who are true to history. If you are a history buff, you probably already know the outcome of the war, if not, then I don't know a better way to find out than to read the book.

[Bogdan · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my edition, this is just the first volume from "The Deluge", I will make a final review after reading volume 3. I may adjust also the final rating after that. For now, I estimate a rating around 3 stars, as it has certain flaws, but in general is a robust and interesting novel.

Below are some notes and impressions that I decided to wrote down in order to remember by the moment I will write the final review:
- nationalism developed greatly at the end of 19th century; it seems that Sienkiewicz is greatly influenced by this and creates characters with strong nationalistic sentiments in 17th century; potentially this was not entirely the true motifs of historical persons
- resembles very much with action/adventure novels, like Dumas novels, but more connections to historical events
- a mix of love story/historical fiction/adventure novel - a winning recipe
- dialogue exceeds greatly the descriptive passages - creates a fluid story like one that it is told around a camp fire
- hard to read Polish names (people or places alike)
- great translation with a lot of notes (over 100 in this volume)
- quite good ebook edition with very few spelling errors

Review for all 3 volumes can be found at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....

[æmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

CO TO ZA ZAKONCZENIE BOZE
- kmicic i soroka największy bromance w literaturze polskiej
- ROZDZIAŁ 39 PLS
- bogusław jest takim dobrym złoczyńcą kocham go
- wołodyjowski, skrzetuscy i zagłoba to najlepszy team

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

pierwszy tom był lepszy. strasznie się męczyłam

[kranzfafka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do brzegu, ludziska, do brzegu...!!!
Opornie, ale idzie.

[Gabi🪐 · Rating 5 out of 5]

dzieło, najlepsze co może być, kocham Kmicica, duszę bym mu oddała, błagam niech on zabije Bogusława

[Zaczytana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obrona Jasnej Góry = Perfekcja