(born in 1972), historical novelist, theatrologist by profession. Since 2008, she has been associated with the Poznań publishing house, Zysk i S-ka.

She gained a strong position in the Polish book market at the end of the first decade of the 21^st century with Northern Road, a tetralogy about Scandinavia during the age of the Vikings. Simultaneously, her first novel about the Piast dynasty was being created (Gra w kości [Dice game]), specifically about the Poland of Bolesław I the Brave and relations with the empire of Otto III. With her subsequent books, she proved that she indeed, as she jokingly said in interviews, ‘has a thing for the Piast dynasty’. This resulted in the writer's first great bestseller, Korona śniegu i krwi (The Crown of Snow and Blood), devoted to the fight for the throne and the consolidation of Poland after the period of feudal fragmentation. She will continue this topic in the second part of the series Odrodzone królewstwo (Reborn Kingdom), entitled Niewidzialna korona (Invisible Crown), describing Władysław I the Elbow-high’s pursuit of the throne after the death of Przemysł II.

Not only is it élan with which her books are written that entitles Elżbieta Cherezińska to be compared to Henryk Sienkiewicz, but also the fact that from the history of the Polish state, they both chose brief moments of the power of our statehood. However, the writer emphasises, and it is demonstrated through her work, that it is not necessary to reach for the climax of power in order to build a sense of national dignity. ‘But we live in such times’, she says, ‘that if we write or say that something is patriotic, then within minutes, mainstream media will accuse us of nationalism or even fascism.  And I don’t want to feel embarrassed when I say that I am a Polish patriot. And I wish we could all say ‘it is cool to be Polish.’’

Contrary to appearances, this is not an exaggerated assessment, as the novelist could have witnessed after the publication of Legion (The Legion) in 2013, a fictionalized history of The Holy Cross Mountains Brigade. It could not have been mentioned during the many years of communism, and if so, then only in a negative context, just as with anything that was associated with the National Armed Forces. The book by Cherezińska was acclaimed by some with delight, others though recalled an old historical assessment, accusing the author of, among other things, insufficient, in their opinion, condemnation of the alleged anti-Semitism of the Brigade’s soldiers. This one claim was enough to realise that with Legion, the writer touched upon the issues evoking unique emotions.

Luckily, the reception of another ‘non-Piast’ novel by Cherezińska was free from these emotions. Tournament of Shadows (Turniej cieni), published two years later, with one of the protagonists being Jan Prosper Witkiewicz, legendary Batyr, known to the readers of, inter alia, Powrót króla. Bitwa o Afganistan (1839–1842 Return of a King: The Battle for Afghanistan 1839-1842) by William Dalrymple. There are many indications that Batyr himself was the embodiment of Mickiewicz’s Konrad Wallenrod. His merits for Russia in the war for Afghanistan conducted by secret intelligence cannot be underestimated; however, at the same time, it is he rather than anyone else who contributed the most to the war-related clashes between England and Russia, which he saw, no differently than prince Czartoryski, as the hope for Poland’s return to a great political game for the future shape of Europe. Moreover, when creating the character of Batyr, the writer let her imagination run wild; but, in the end, we are dealing here with a novel, not a biography!

Elżbieta Cherezińska feels best in the beginnings of the Polish state though, and we could see it in 2016 after the edition of Harda (The Haughty) and Królowa (The Queen), two of her novels about Sigrid the Haughty, the daughter of Mieszko I and Bolesław I the Brave’s sister, Piast princess and Scandinavian ruler, the mother of kings of Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and even England. Icelandic sagas immortalised her as Sigríð Storråda (Haughty) and it was an accurate nickname, for holy (Świętosława in Polish, which means: Holy Glory), says the author, was only her name, and she forged herself from the noblest steel.

The author’s gripping narrative makes the subsequent battles, wars, betrayals, and alliances arranged in front of our eyes in a colourful sequence of fascinating events, and it is not important anymore what the author of The Queen gathered from old chronicles and sagas and what she devised herself. She has this rare gift of seducing the reader, which makes us want to follow the author, we pursue her, just as we do with the heroes of Sienkiewicz’s Trilogy.  The author of The Haughty has proven indeed with her previous books, The Crown of Snow and Blood in particular, that she does not lack in imagination, but she does stick to the boundaries designated by the myths and legends, so as not to get carried away with her characters into the world of a fairy tale. The historical foundation of her novels can be quite impressive.

Vivacity of the action, its plasticity, amazing dialogues, interesting social background – all of this makes Elżbieta Cherezińska’s books, like not many Polish authors, call for being screened, which we may expect after the author has signed relevant agreements with film producers. The Crown of Snow and Blood evokes an automatic association with the famous Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. ‘In the actual sense, yes’, says the writer, ‘but he had to come up with the whole story to create his seven kingdoms, and I have these kingdoms, it is only the heroes, today forgotten, that I pull out of darkness and bring them to life.’

– Krzysztof Masłoń

BIBLIOGRAPHY          

• Z jednej strony, z drugiej strony [together with Szewach Weiss], Warszawa: Prószyński i S-ka, 2005.
• Byłam sekretarką Rumkowskiego. Dzienniki Etki Daum, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2008.
• Gra w kości, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2010.
• Legion, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2013.
• Turniej cieni, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2015.

Series „Północna droga”

• Saga Sigrun, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2009.
• Ja jestem Halderd, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2010.
• Pasja według Einara, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2011.
• Trzy młode pieśni, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2012.

Series „Odrodzone królestwo”

• Korona śniegu i krwi, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2012.
• Niewidzialna korona, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2014.

Series „Harda”

• Harda, Poznań: Zysk i S-ka, 2016.
• Królowa, Poznań: Zysk i Ska, 2016.