Henryk Sienkiewicz 
With Fire and Sword 

This Polish ‘Gone with the Wind’ is set in 17th century Poland during the Cossack-Polish War as the Kingdom of Poland struggles to maintain unity. It is a historical epic, in the same vein as Dumas or Walter Scott, where a stunning plot is weaved through actual history to create compelling and brilliantly grounded characters. An epic story with a stunning ensemble of real and fictitious characters, whose passion and vitriol leap off the page. It is a novel of Polish identity and belonging, written in a time of Polish partition, which brought immense patriotic pride to the embattled nation. It is a novel that has rightly earned its place as an epic. If you loved the BBCs ‘War and Peace’ you will love this classic tale. –