Editing Henryk Sienkiewicz (section)

== Works ==
His first work, "Victim", was written between 1865 and 1866 and is only known because of a letter in which he told to his friend that he burned the book simply because he was not satisfied with it.

Sienkiewicz's early works (e.g., the 1872 {{Lang|pl|Humoreski z teki Woroszyłły}}) show him a strong supporter of [[Positivism in Poland|Polish Positivism]], endorsing constructive, practical characters such as engineers.<ref name="psb203"/> Polish "Positivism" advocated economic and social modernization and deprecated armed [[irredentist]] struggle.<ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-164"/> Unlike most other Polish Positivist writers, Sienkiewicz was a conservative.<ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-164"/> His Little Trilogy (''Stary Sługa'', 1875; ''Hania'', 1876; ''Selim Mirza'', 1877) shows his interest in [[history of Poland|Polish history]] and his literary maturity, including fine mastery of humor and drama.<ref name="psb204"/><ref name="psb205"/> His early works focused on three themes: the oppression and poverty of the peasants ("Charcoal Sketches", 1877); criticism of the partitioning powers ("''{{Lang|pl|Z pamiętnika korepetytora}}''", "''[[Janko Muzykant]]''" ["Janko the Musician"], 1879); and his voyage to the United States ("''{{Lang|pl|Za chlebem}}''", "For Bread", 1880).<ref name="psb205"/> His most common motif was the plight of the powerless: impoverished peasants, schoolchildren, and emigrants.<ref name="psb205"/>

His "''Latarnik''" ("The [[Lighthouse keeper]]", 1881) has been described as one of the best Polish short stories.<ref name="psb205"/> His 1882 stories "''{{Lang|pl|Bartek Zwycięzca}}''" ("Bart the Conqueror") and "''Sachem''" draw parallels between the tragic fates of their heroes and that of the occupied Polish nation.<ref name="psb206"/>

His novel ''With Fire and Sword'' (1883–84) was enthusiastically received by readers (as were the next two volumes of [[The Trilogy]]), becoming an "instant classic", though critical reception was lukewarm.<ref name="psb206"/><ref name="psb207"/><ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-164"/><ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-165"/> The Trilogy is set in 17th-century Poland.<ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-164"/> While critics generally praised its style, they noted that some historic facts are misrepresented or distorted.<ref name="psb206"/><ref name="psb207"/><ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-165"/> The Trilogy merged elements of the [[epic (genre)|epic]] and the historical novel, infused with special features of Sienkiewicz's style.<ref name="psb207"/> The Trilogy's patriotism worried the censors; Warsaw's Russian censor I. Jankul warned Sienkiewicz that he would not allow publication of any further works of his dealing with Polish history.<ref name="psb208"/>
[[File:POL COA Oszyk.svg|thumb|Sienkiewicz's family coat-of-arms, [[Oszyk coat of arms|''Oszyk'']], was a variant of this [[Łabędź coat of arms|''Łabędź'']] (Swan) coat-of-arms.]]
Sienkiewicz's ''[[Without dogma]]'' (''Bez dogmatu'', 1889–90) was a notable artistic experiment, a self-analytical novel written as a fictitious diary.<ref name="psb208"/> His works of the period are critical of [[Decadent movement|decadent]] and [[Naturalism (literature)|naturalistic]] philosophies.<ref name="psb209"/> He had expressed his opinions on naturalism and writing, generally, early on in "''{{Lang|pl|O naturaliźmie w powieści}}''" ("Naturalism in the Novel", 1881).<ref name="psb205"/> A dozen years later, in 1893, he wrote that novels should strengthen and ennoble life, rather than undermining and debasing it.<ref name="psb209"/> Later, in the early 1900s, he fell into mutual hostility with the [[Young Poland]] movement in Polish literature.<ref name="psb211"/>

These views informed his novel [[Quo Vadis (novel)|''Quo Vadis'']] (1896).<ref name="psb209"/> This story of [[early Christianity]] in Rome, with protagonists struggling against the [[Emperor Nero]]'s regime, draws parallels between repressed early Christians and contemporary Poles; and, due to its focus on Christianity, it became widely popular in the Christian [[Western culture|West]].<ref name="KurianIII2010"/> The triumph of spiritual Christianity over materialist Rome was a critique of materialism and decadence, and also an allegory for the strength of the Polish spirit.<ref name="psb209"/>

His ''[[The Teutonic Knights (novel)|Teutonic Knights]]'' returned to Poland's history,<ref name="psb209"/> describing the [[Battle of Grunwald]] (1410), a Polish-Lithuanian victory over the Teutonic Knights in the [[Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War|Polish-Lithuanian-Teutonic War]]. Both in German and Polish culture the Teutonic Knights were incorrectly viewed as precursors to modern Germans while the Polish-Lithuanian union was regarded as a model for a future independent Polish state. These assumptions tied in well with the contemporary political context of ongoing [[Germanization]] efforts in [[German partition|German Poland]].<ref name="psb209"/><ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-165"/> So, the book quickly became another Sienkiewicz bestseller in Poland, and was received by critics better than his Trilogy had been; it was also applauded by the Polish right-wing, anti-German [[National Democracy (Poland)|National Democracy]] political movement, and became part of the Polish school curriculum after Poland regained independence in 1918.<ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-165"/><ref name="ErsoyGorny2010-166"/>

It is often incorrectly asserted that Sienkiewicz received his Nobel Prize for ''Quo Vadis''.<ref name="PHA"/><ref name="wilczak"/> While ''[[Quo Vadis (novel)|Quo Vadis]]'' is the novel that brought him international fame,<ref name="Sienkiewicz1998"/> the [[Nobel Prize]] does not name any particular novel, instead citing "his outstanding merits as an epic writer".<ref name="The Nobel Prize in Literature 1905"/>

Sienkiewicz often carried out substantial historic research for his novels, but he was selective in the findings that made it into the novels. Thus, for example, he prioritized Polish military victories over defeats.<ref name="psb207"/> Sienkiewicz kept a diary, but it has been [[Lost literary work|lost]].<ref name="psb213"/> A life of him written in English by [[Monica Mary Gardner|Monica M. Gardner]] was published in 1926.