On the Field of Glory: An Historical Novel of the Time of King John Sobieski [Hardcover]

Henryk K. Sienkiewicz (Author), Miroslav Lipinski (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

Sienkiewicz, one of the greatest storytellers in world literature, introduces a memorable cast of characters, ready for battle, duelling, or love in this last completed historical novel of the Nobel Prize winner. Breathing with life, gusto and passion, this book is set in one of the most turbulent and critical periods of European history. Above all it is the story of the tumultuous love between Anulka and Jacek, in what is the most lyrical of all Sienkiewicz love stories. This groundbreaking new translation also includes a new epilogue, narrating the events leading up to the glorious victory of the Christian forces led by King John Sobieski III. This epilogue has been carefully constructed by Miroslaw Lipinski, the translator, using seasonal historical accounts by Count John Sobieski (a distant relative of the king) and Count A J Orchowski.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Polish

About the Author

Henryk Sienkiewicz

Product Details

• Hardcover: 278 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078180762X
• ISBN-13: 978-0781807623
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,850,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When Poland saved Western civilization, February 22, 2002

By 

Frank J. Konopka (Shamokin, PA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: On the Field of Glory: An Historical Novel of the Time of King John Sobieski (Hardcover)

Countries have a long history of ingratitude towards those who save them from peril. This book, in fictional form, was the first part of a planned trilogy detailing how the Polish army under King Jan Sobieski rescued the Western world from the encroachment of the Turks, by relieving the siege of Vienna in 1683. Without that victory, our entire history would probably have changed. What thanks did Poland receive for this tremendous accomplishment? It was dismembered by the very countries it had saved!
Sienkiewicz was a fine writer, unfortunately nearly unknown in these times. This is a robust work, but there is a dominant theme of patriotism infusing his characters. Rarely is love of country shown so clearly as in this work. It is also a love story, and a well-told one at that. The book has Sienkiewicz's usual elements: star-crossed lovers, strudy and loyal heroes, hissable villans, and characters who offer welcome comic relief. The writing is a bit old fashioned at times, but the patriotic feeling with which it was written practically leaps off the page at you. This book is much shorter than Sienkiewicz's other works that I have read, but its brevity does not diminish its impact.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I wish the trilogy had been written!, May 16, 2000

By 

The Pete (Illinois) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: On the Field of Glory: An Historical Novel of the Time of King John Sobieski (Hardcover)

First of all, as much as I love this book, I'd suggest that the first Henryk Sienkiewicz book a person should read be either Quo Vadis or With Fire and Sword. They are long but worth it. This book - incredible as it is - is almost just a fragment compared with the giant scale and spirit of his other books that I've read. Even so, it is head and shoulders above most literature in so many ways.

You really get a sense of the times from Sienkiewicz, and this book is no exception. The descriptions of the armies and the countryside and the people in them establish a very concrete setting. Even so, Sienkiewicz infuses everything in the book with thematic relevance, but it is all done so very subtly that only gradually does the reader cumulatively percieve what the author wants him to understand. This must have been very difficult to accomplish, but he makes it seem effortless.

All the characterizations are centered on ideals and you come to know the people in the story through what they stand for and do. It hardly matters what any character's goal is. What's important here is the idealism and purity - or lack thereof - with which they pursue those goals. The heroes are extremely idealized, and the villians are predatory and evil. The "damsel in distress" is not typecast as a ditz. She is a full participant in the action - almost the main character - and her nobility is played off to great advantage against the trials she goes through. It's hard to resist such larger than life portrayals. Plus, the action is fast paced and always interesting.

Admitedly, this novel was the first of a planned trilogy that Sienkiewicz never completed and it shows a little. On the Field of Glory stands on its own, but it is still just a first act. Jacek's character is probably developed more fully in what would have been book two. In On the Field of Glory, we see powerful, passionate people who are being swept up into a greater conflict, but we do not get to see that greater conflict.

An excellent book that stands on its own, but it's a great loss to world literature that Sienkiewicz couldn't complete the trilogy!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Linguistic Glory, May 21, 2005

By 

Antoni "Ancient Mastermind" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On the Field of Glory: An Historical Novel of the Time of King John Sobieski (Hardcover)

This book is written beautifully and patriotically, you find yourself wanting to postpone evrything around you so can immerse you totally in the book
a well written novel by the master story teller sienkiewicz
definatly a keeper you will read it again
Have a good day