More than 100 Lithuanian historical novels

It is one of the most complex and responsible genres of literature, because it is necessary to connect two things - history and literature. "War Bride" is a really interesting, talentedly written book, I will try to say from the positions of a literary scholar and critic what makes up its content, weight and significance.

We are on the eve of a beautiful anniversary - 2024. 120 years have passed since the publication of the first Lithuanian historical novel - "Algimanto" by Vincos Pietarius. One researcher of Lithuanian literature has calculated that more than 100 historical novels have been published since then, even before Sabaliauskaitė and Skujaitė. The author did her work probably without thinking about how many novels there are, but if she had known, her hand might have trembled while writing.

Thus, Ilona Skujaitė enters the field of literature, where there are, dare I say, approximately 120 historical novels. This genre is a kind of test for every artist, especially a beginner. In creating a historical novel, two aspects are necessary - historical and literary, the latter is much more important. The author of a historical novel has not only a moral, but also a legal right to fill many things with his intuition, ingenuity, fantasy, and thoughts. You can't write historical novels based on facts - only history textbooks, and creating a novel requires a lot of artistic ingenuity. So if one undertakes a historical novel, one must bring something alive and distinctive. I will not retell the contents of the book, but I think it is attractive to everyone. In addition, I tempted several women to read The War Bride - my wife and a neighbor, although I rarely recommend books to anyone.

A dynamic plot and two matching voices 

In this book, I see the caution and modesty of the novelist, which is indicated by the extensive list of historical literature, the epilogue (not necessarily necessary as part of the plot) and the author's word. This is a kind of sign of responsibility and modesty, which is surprising, because authors are not very modest anyway. The mentioned texts help to understand the situation, who is that Kotryna, supplement the modest knowledge of people of my generation about Lithuanian history, which in our time was presented poorly and truncated.

What pleased me most about this book was the compositional plot of the novel - dynamic and linear. Now writers like to mix things up, and here the plot is chronological and sequential. It consists of two lines - the facts (historical events) are described and the relationship of the main character of the novel, Catherine, with the world she lives in, starting with the portrait of the rejected, despised, humiliated, unrecognized and ignored queen. As she herself says, brother Žygymantas Augustas, blinded by his love for Barbora Radvilaita, has no time to take care of her. The chapters of the story are very short. One of the readers I seduced even told me that she only read a few a day to prolong the pleasure of reading. 

Every book usually has a narrator - the author often pretends to be someone and speaks through their mouths or is neutral. In this case, the author maintains a neutral narrative. In the chapters, historical events are talked about as if from the outside, without revealing themselves, it seems that it is like a historian's story, and where Kotryna herself speaks, it is already women's experiences. These two voices blend together very nicely. Let the historians talk about the historical details, but as a reader I was convinced by the picture presented in the book, I accept it without getting hung up on the details.

A dynamic plot and two matching voices 

In this book, I see the caution and modesty of the novelist, which is indicated by the extensive list of historical literature, the epilogue (not necessarily necessary as part of the plot) and the author's word. This is a kind of sign of responsibility and modesty, which is surprising, because authors are not very modest anyway. The mentioned texts help to understand the situation, who is that Kotryna, supplement the modest knowledge of people of my generation about Lithuanian history, which in our time was presented poorly and truncated.

What pleased me most about this book was the compositional plot of the novel - dynamic and linear. Now writers like to mix things up, and here the plot is chronological and sequential. It consists of two lines - the facts (historical events) are described and the relationship of the main character of the novel, Catherine, with the world she lives in, starting with the portrait of the rejected, despised, humiliated, unrecognized and ignored queen. As she herself says, brother Žygymantas Augustas, blinded by his love for Barbora Radvilaita, has no time to take care of her. The chapters of the story are very short. One of the readers I seduced even told me that she only read a few a day to prolong the pleasure of reading. 

Every book usually has a narrator - the author often pretends to be someone and speaks through their mouths or is neutral. In this case, the author maintains a neutral narrative. In the chapters, historical events are talked about as if from the outside, without revealing themselves, it seems that it is like a historian's story, and where Kotryna herself speaks, it is already women's experiences. These two voices blend together very nicely. Let the historians talk about the historical details, but as a reader I was convinced by the picture presented in the book, I accept it without getting hung up on the details.

A dynamic plot and two matching voices 

In this book, I see the caution and modesty of the novelist, which is indicated by the extensive list of historical literature, the epilogue (not necessarily necessary as part of the plot) and the author's words. This is a kind of sign of responsibility and modesty, which is surprising, because authors are not very modest anyway. The mentioned texts help to understand the situation, who is that Kotryna, supplement the modest knowledge of people of my generation about Lithuanian history, which in our time was presented poorly and truncated.

What pleased me most about this book was the compositional plot of the novel - dynamic and linear. Now writers like to mix things up, and here the plot is chronological and sequential. It consists of two lines - the facts (historical events) are described and the relationship of the main character of the novel, Catherine, with the world she lives in, starting with the portrait of the rejected, despised, humiliated, unrecognized and ignored queen . As she herself says, brother Žygymantas Augustas, blinded by his love for Barbora Radvilaita, has no time to take care of her. The chapters of the story are very short. One of the readers I seduced even told me that she only reads a few a day to prolong the pleasure of reading. 

Every book usually has a narrator - the author often pretends to be someone and speaks through their mouths or is neutral. In this case, the author maintains a neutral narrative. In the chapters, historical events are talked about as if from the outside, without revealing themselves, it seems that it is like a historian's story, and where Kotryna herself speaks, it is already women's experiences. These two voices blend together very nicely. Let the historians talk about the historical details, but as a reader I was convinced by the picture presented in the book, I accept it without getting hung up on the details.