Many of Sharon’s fans will remember her friend, Kasia Ogrodnik from her passion for Henry the Young King. Kasia is Polish and loves to share her love of Poland and its history. Recently, she invited author Elżbieta Cherezińska to talk about her books, telling the story of the first Polish ruling dynasty, and she agreed! Without further ado, I bring you Kasia’s conversation with Elżbieta Cherezińska.
Elżbieta Cherezińska is the award-winning author of The Widow Queen, The Last Crown, Sydonia and the best-selling Piast series. She is an expert on the House of Piast, Poland’s first ruling dynasty, having studied its rulers and their times for decades. Two of her novels have been translated into English. She is highly acclaimed in Poland, her homeland, where she has published 15 award-winning books.
Is historical fiction genre popular in Poland? Over the years, did you have an opportunity to observe changes, tendencies, fashions?
When historical fiction is concerned, Poland has a long-established and time-honoured tradition. Nobel Prize-winner Henryk Sienkiewicz with his Quo Vadis was a favourite author of the older generation, but his were historical novels from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Times have changed, and so have readers’ expectations. In consequence, one hundred years later we had a gap on the book market. Not counting the WWII based novels and those taking up the similar subject matter. Younger generation had difficulties in finding a historical novel, which would suit its temperament. This gap was filled in by the fantasy genre interweaving the history elements. When in 2010 my first historical novel was published, one of my acquaintances, a journalist asked me, ‘Is there anyone still interested in it?’ I had a feeling that we overslept something important. And thus I felt even stronger urge to write about the Middle Ages. Three years later, when Korona śniegu i krwi (The Crown of Snow and Blood) very quickly became a bestseller, the very same journalist asked me, ‘How did you know that the readers long for such stories?’
The Piasts, Poland’s first ruling dynasty. Many of them are characters of your books. What do you find so appealing about them?
Firstly, the fact that they appear on the international arena so suddenly and almost out of nowhere and are already shaped, self-aware and valiant. There is this air of primal strength about them, which makes them push forward, without complexes and without looking back. They build their kingdom very quickly and effectively defend it.
You have spent decades researching the Piasts, writing about the historical figures both well known and not so well known to your readers. Did you uncover any information that caused you to change your own initial judgement about one of those figures?
Of course! This is the fascinating thing about my job, when I crossed the boundaries of established historical versions of events. It’s like putting together jigsaw puzzle. The picture on the box is well known, but I want to mix the pieces and put them all together anew. Check all the information not only in the historical context, but also the parallel one. Today we know the version of the history which was written by the winners, whereas 1000 years ago each of the players had an alternative version of events, tried to solve their problems differently. What wasn’t a success went to the proverbial dustbin of history, and didn’t count. But as far as I’m concerned, it’s interesting, because it puts the characters in a completely different light. Highlighted from below they become even more intriguing.
Do you have a personal favourite among the Piasts you wrote about? I would risk a guess and go with Przemysł II, but maybe I am in the wrong?
Many of them. I can never decide which one to choose. I love the first three Boleslauses: the Brave one, the Generous one and the Wrymouth. Looking at their stories it is hard to resist the impression that the name they shared was like a powerful spell.
Harda (The Widow Queen) and Królowa (The Last Crown) are two of your novels translated into English. Their main character is Świętosława, the daughter of Mieszko I of Poland and the mother of Canute the Great. What difficulties, if any, did you encounter while creating this particular character? Historians tend to disagree when it comes to her true identity…
Because her life was so rich that historians tend to see it as a life of two different women. It’s getting even more complicated due to her name, Świętosława, which was never used by the chroniclers who mentioned her in their works. In the Scandinavian sagas she is called Sigrida Storrada. In the chronicles she always appears as a companion of a man, be it daughter of Mieszko, sister of Boleslaus, widow of Erik, consort of Sveyn, mother of Canute. But she is still the same woman. Confronting with her story was a great adventure. Even from the scrappy chroniclers’ notes emerges strong personality. She’s a kind of a woman, who leaves a mark on the world, and biography of hers is, least to say, controversial. Of course, we can doubt the sources, skip the sagas all together. But why do that? Because she was “just a woman?” Experts on Olav Tryggvason (she was strongly connected to) don’t skip the saga about him as a source, but try to explore the message it carries carefully and meticulously. I did the same for Świętosława. Having been the fruit of Mieszko I’s only legally acknowledged marriage, she was the most valuable of his daughters. Her father designated her to secure the alliance and sent her overseas when she was 15-16 to become King Erik the Victorious’s wife and the mother of his only son, the future King Olof. After she became a widow, the young and famous king of Denmark, Sveyn Forkbeard won her hand in marriage. This was political checkmate. After all, Sveyn was a chief enemy of both her late husband and her brother, Boleslaus the Brave, who was taking over the reins of power in Poland at the time. Sveyn was to be one more viking in her life. According to legend her unfulfilled feelings triggered the battle of the three kings in the Øresund (the Sand). After this battle, which her allies lost, she was banished by Sveyn from his kingdom. And here, as a writer, I pose a question: why would he do that? Did the credit for this great victory not go to her? You can find the answer in the novel. My American editor commented on Świętosława’s life, ‘See, the chroniclers did not mention HER name, because they were so focused on the men in her life. But it was her, not those men, who experienced the whole of this long and tempestuous story. Only her.’
Your latest novel, the award-winning Sydonia is a departure from the House of Piast. Why Pomerania? Why the House of Griffin?
I am a Pomeranian myself. I live in the former Duchy of Pomerania. My house stands on the former lands of the Borckes, the powerful old Pomeranian family, Sydonia came from. Paradox of history, this old family, so meritorious for their service to the Duchy and its history, today is best known thanks to her, the woman accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death. Her personal story is the story of Pomerania itself, because her death and everything what followed (the immediate fall of the House of Griffin), was the death of the House itself and the fall of the 600-years old duchy. This is what bounded her and the Griffins together with a death knot. And this is how the legend was born. The legend of the sorceress who destroyed the house and the duchy. Now it cannot be separated. Only that, next to the legend, there is also Sydonia’s personal story, very rich, written down in the court records. The inquisition court trial she had to face was only the one part of it. The court records tell the story of her everyday life. And in my view, this everyday life of hers is as interesting as the legend itself. Hence, in the novel, I put together all those layers so that the readers could form their own opinion on this complicated woman. Her story was also popular in the 19th century. It won fame thanks to a novel written by Rev. Meinhold, translated into English by Lady Jane Wilde (Sidonia the sorceress). Edward Burne-Jones immortalised her in one of his paintings, being of course imaginary portrayal of hers. Sydonia has fascinated me for years, as if she was waiting for her time to come. At the same time I have been fascinated by the Griffins, the extraordinary dynasty which ruled the Duchy of Pomerania. 600 years of constant rule… Quite impressive when Europe is concerned, isn’t it? The duchy has only been forgotten because it didn’t fit into the established patterns and its conquerors found it hard to eliminate the memory of it. German-speaking Slavic duchy? It neither fitted into the history of Germany, nor into the history of Poland, but still territorially it belonged to both. Now is the proper time to discover that the past was not as unequivocal as we thought it was.
Some publishers and some readers still cling to this outdated notion and continue to harbor this odd bias, the belief that male authors cannot write convincingly about women and vice versa. In your writing you proved them wrong, but nonetheless I would like to pose a question: do you prefer writing about male or female characters?
Honestly? Professionally speaking, to me, as a writer it doesn’t make any difference. But when it comes to the emotional, I like writing about women. It gives me the whole sceptre of possibilities. Women are simply complicated, which is a good thing.
Is there any chance you might reward your readers with another Piast book in the near future? if I may speak for your legions of fans, we are not ready to let the Piasts go…
Yes, I return to them as soon as this conversation is over. I have been preparing to write a story I want to confront with. At the bottom of it there are common stereotypes produced over the years, not to mention Poland’s national sacred traditions. I do not intend to reject them, but look at them anew.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview and for giving readers in Poland and around the world so much pleasure with your books. We are looking forward to your next novel.
You may want to visit the official website: Elżbieta Cherezińska (cherezinska.pl)
Visit her on Facebook too.