The little trilogy

the long version

In a new translation by Miroslaw Lipinski, The Little Trilogy contains everything readers have come to expect of the celebrated Sienkiewicz - charming and alluring characters, romance, heartbreak, action and adventure, humor and bravery. Set against the breathtaking panorama of the Polish countryside and the French wilderness, The Little Trilogy follows the volatile friendship between Selim Mirza, a Polonized Tartar, and Henryk, a character based on Sienkiewicz himself. These close friends share confidences and dreams, court the same beautiful girl, and ultimately fight side by side in the Franco-Prussian War in an army unit full of dangerous ruffians and bandits. At each turn there are the possibilities of glorious death or victorious life, eternal love or melancholic despair. On each page there is full evidence of Sienkiewicz's mastery at character delineation and exciting narrative. And behind it all is the perceptiveness of an author who was able to reveal, with both insight and compassion, the timeless truths that inform the human soul.