The Penguin Book of Polish Short Stories

by Antonia Lloyd-Jones (Editor), Olga Tokarczuk (Foreword)

A revelatory and richly varied collection of Poland’s greatest short stories

A Penguin Classic

Witty, surprising, and sparkling, this anthology is an essential exploration of Polish literature. Its thirty-nine superb stories run the length of the literal and imaginative creation of Poland, from 1918 (when Poland regained its independence after 123 years of colonization by neighboring empires) to the present.

The stories include “Miss Winczewska” by the acclaimed twentieth-century writer Maria Dabrowska, based on her experience of helping to establish a library for soldiers at the Citadel military base in Warsaw in the interwar period; and “In the Shadow of Brooklyn” by Stanislaw Dygat, the comical tale of a young man's envy of what he imagines to be his father's success with women. At the contemporary end is “The Green Children”, a historical story set in 1656 by Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk, narrated by a Scottish doctor who, as the Polish king's physician, travels about the wilds of Poland and encounters two feral children. Curated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, this anthology is a refreshing and glorious new collection of the best in Polish literature.

Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Poland, Classics, Literature, Anthologies

592 pages, Paperback

Expected publication December 8, 2026

About the author

Antonia Lloyd-Jones is the 2018 winner of the Transatlantyk Award for the most outstanding promoter of Polish literature abroad. She has translated works by several of Poland’s leading contemporary novelists and writers of reportage, as well as crime fiction, poetry, and children’s books. Her translation of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk was shortlisted foe the 2019 International Booker Prize.

She is a mentor for the Emerging Translator Mentorship Programme and former co-chair of the Translators Association of the United Kingdom.

Reviews

[Elyssia Hermanowicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved so much about this collection. I loved the way the stories were grouped into topics, but also sub-grouped into chronological orders.

I loved the content, the language, the imagery if the chosen stories. I loved that they were all different - a truly eclectic mixture of personalities and experiences all coupled together with the only link being they're translated from Polish to English (and chosen by Antonia Lloyd-Jones).

Don't get me wrong, there was at least one which I couldn't wait to finish - but, it definitely gave me a different insight to Polish literature than that of the other authors.

I would absolutely recommend this collection of short stories (indeed, I already have.) I have also used it as a springboard to discover new (to me) Polish authors. I was already a fan of Olga Tokarczuk, and now I've decided to start Solaris by Stanisław Lem.

Some of the most memorable stories, for me, include Horses, The Passport Wife, When the Glow of Dawn Appears, The Tragic Tale of the Baron and His Wife, Corporal Billy Goat and I and The Cobbler.

More than one of these stories brought tears, but I am a woman of a certain age and may have been called "sensitive" a few times during my life.

I eagerly await more translations by Antonia Lloyd-Jones, and I shall enjoy my journey to discover new (to me) Polish authors.

[Micebyliz]

An eclectic collection of short stories. Most of them were new to me, a few seemed familiar (just because i read so much, not because i read them) and a couple I started and skipped because i didn't catch on. Well worth reading though. It's a wide range of writers whose lives I might be more inclined to read about than the work they produced. (isn't that awful?)
Some of the stories leave you in the air with no actual conclusion to hang on to, and others were kind of cold and creep-factor. I don't know, maybe a class on these or a discussion group would be a great place to learn more.

[Stephanie Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. My husband is Polish American, and for me it was an opportunity to expand my exposure to Polish literature. I would highly recommend! I love a short story collection, it feels like ready multiple books in one!

[zuzia borthwick · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘i don’t know how many times i’ve died in my dreams’
(3.5 stars)

[Alex Dove · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of short stories, exploring different themes over different periods of the 20th Century.