Editing Henryk Sienkiewicz (section)

=== Later years ===
Sienkiewicz had several romances, and in 1892 Maria Romanowska-Wołodkowicz, stepdaughter of a wealthy [[Odessa]]n, entered his life.<ref name="psb208"/> He and Romanowska became engaged there in 1893 and married in Kraków on 11 November.<ref name="psb208"/> Just two weeks later, however, his bride left him; Sienkiewicz blamed "in-law intrigues". On 13 December 1895 he obtained [[pope|papal]] consent to dissolution of the marriage.<ref name="psb208"/> In 1904 he [[Avunculate marriage|married his niece]], Maria Babska.<ref name="psb208"/>

Sienkiewicz used his growing international fame to influence world opinion in favor of the Polish cause (throughout his life and since the late 18th century, Poland remained [[Partitions of Poland|partitioned]] by her neighbors, Russia, Austria and Prussia, and later Germany).<ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-163"/><ref name="psb210"/> He often criticized the German policy of [[Germanization]] of the [[Polish minority in Germany]];<ref name="psb210"/><ref name="psb212"/><ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-164"/> in 1901 he expressed support of [[Września#Września school strike of 1901|Września schoolchildren who were protesting the banning of the Polish language]].<ref name="psb210"/> In 1907, amid German attempts to expropriate Polish land, he appealed to the global intellectual community for support.<ref>{{Cite news |date=19 December 1907 |title=APPEAL BY SIENKIEWICZ.; Wants the World to Help Stop Germanization of His Country. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1907/12/19/archives/appeal-by-sienkiewicz-wants-the-world-to-help-stop-germanization-of.html |access-date=28 August 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> More cautiously, he called on Russia's government to introduce reforms in Russian-controlled [[Congress Poland]].<ref name="psb211"/> During the [[Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland (1905–07)|Revolution in the Kingdom of Poland]], he advocated broader Polish autonomy within the Russian Empire.<ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-163"/><ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-164"/>
[[File:Henryk Sienkiewicz 1905.jpg|thumb|left|[[Nobel laureate]], 1905]]
Sienkiewicz maintained some ties with Polish right-wing [[National Democracy (Poland)|National Democracy]] politicians and was critical of the socialists, but he was generally a moderate and declined to become a politician and a deputy to the [[State Duma of the Russian Empire|Russian Duma]].<ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-164"/><ref name="psb211"/> In the cultural sphere, he was involved in the creation of the [[Adam Mickiewicz Monument, Kraków|Kraków]] and [[Adam Mickiewicz Monument, Warsaw|Warsaw monuments to Adam Mickiewicz]].<ref name="psb210"/> He supported educational endeavors and co-founded the Polska Macierz Szkolna organization.<ref name="psb211"/> "Reasonably wealthy" by 1908 thanks to sales of his books, he often used his new wealth to support struggling writers.<ref name="psb210"/> He helped gather funds for social-welfare projects such as starvation relief, and for construction of a tuberculosis sanatorium at [[Zakopane]].<ref name="psb210"/> He was as prominent in philanthropy as in literature.<ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-163"/>

In February 1895 he wrote the first chapters of [[Quo Vadis (novel)|''Quo Vadis'']]. The novel was serialized beginning in March 1895 in Warsaw's ''Polish Gazette'', Kraków's ''Czas'' (Time), and [[Poznań]]'s ''Dziennik Poznański'' (Poznań Daily).<ref name="psb209"/> The novel was finished by March 1896.<ref name="psb209"/> The book edition appeared later the same year and soon gained international renown.<ref name="psb209"/> In February 1897 he began serializing a new novel, [[The Teutonic Knights (novel)|''Krzyżacy'']] (The [[Teutonic Knights]], or The Knights of the Cross); serialization finished in 1900, and the book edition appeared that year.<ref name="psb209"/>

In 1900, with a three-year delay due to the approaching centenary of [[Mickiewicz]]'s birth, Sienkiewicz celebrated his own quarter-century, begun in 1872, as a writer.<ref name="psb210"/> Special events were held in a number of Polish cities, including Kraków, Lwów, and Poznań.<ref name="psb210"/> A jubilee committee presented him with a gift from the Polish people: an estate at [[Oblęgorek]], near [[Kielce]],<ref name="psb210"/> where he later opened a school for children.<ref name="Wychowanie przedszkolne w Polsce w latach 1918-1939"/>

In 1905 he won the Nobel Prize for his lifetime achievements as an epic writer.<ref name="psb210"/><ref name=PHA/><ref name=wilczak/> In his acceptance speech, he said this honor was of particular value to a son of Poland: "She was pronounced dead – yet here is proof that she lives on.... She was pronounced defeated – and here is proof that she is victorious."<ref name="The Nobel Peace Prize 1983. Lech Wałęsa. Acceptance Speech"/>
[[File:PL-SK Oblęgorek, Pałacyk Henryka Sienkiewicza 2018-08-22--16-29-17-001.jpg|thumb|Sienkiewicz's residence at [[Oblęgorek]]]]
His social and political activities resulted in a diminished literary output.<ref name="psb212"/> He wrote a new historical novel, ''Na polu chwały'' ([[On the Field of Glory]]), that was meant as the beginning of a new trilogy; it was, however, criticized as being a lesser version of his original ''[[The Trilogy|Trilogy]]'' and was discontinued.<ref name="psb212"/> Similarly, his contemporary novel {{Lang|pl|Wiry}} (Whirlpools), 1910, which criticized some of Sienkiewicz's political opponents, received a mostly polemical and politicized response.<ref name="psb213"/> His 1910 novel for young people, [[In Desert and Wilderness|''W pustyni i w puszczy'' (In Desert and Wilderness)]], serialized in {{Lang|pl|Kurier Warszawski}} (The Warsaw Courier), finishing in 1911, was much better received and became widely popular among children and young adults.<ref name="psb213"/>

After the outbreak of [[World War I]], Sienkiewicz was visited at Oblęgorek by a [[Polish Legions in World War I|Polish Legions]] cavalry unit under [[Bolesław Wieniawa-Długoszowski]].<ref name="psb213"/> Soon after, he left for Switzerland.<ref name="psb213"/> Together with [[Ignacy Jan Paderewski|Ignacy Paderewski]] and Erazm Piltz, he established an organization for Polish war relief.<ref name="psb213"/> He also supported the work of the [[Red Cross]].<ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-164"/> Otherwise he eschewed politics though shortly before his death he endorsed the [[Act of 5th November]] 1916, a declaration by Emperors Wilhelm II of Germany and Franz Joseph of Austria and king of Hungary, pledging the creation of a Kingdom of Poland envisioned as a puppet state allied with, and controlled by, the Central Powers.<ref name="psb213"/>