Some error occured while loading the Quick View. Please close the Quick View and try reloading the page.
“Christopher Adam Zakrzewski’s admirable translation of The Fair Folk and Little Orphan Mary captures the full scope of Maria Konopnicka’s genius, her enchanting storytelling, her wisdom, imagination, and whimsical sense of humor. He raises the Polish masterpiece to its rightful place on the Parnassus of world literature.”
— Professor Kazimierz Braun, Polish writer and scholar
“The title of this moving tale evokes Hans Christian Andersen and his distinctive treatment of the fairy tale genre, but what is delivered here goes beyond the pattern popularized by the Danish author. Yes, the standard elements of nineteenth-century fairy tales are present: gnomes, queens, nature and its seasons, and a happy ending. But the gnomes have unmistakably Polish features, the orphan does not become a queen, society’s problems are intensely present, and the show ends annually with the coming of winter.
Konopnicka’s tale is a joy to read. It can cheer up adults as well as children. Beautifully translated by arguably the best Polish-English translator alive, it belongs with Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, and medieval morality plays. A mood-lifter and serenity summoner, it is a book to reach for when one needs a proclamation that ‘all is (almost) right with the world.’”
— Ewa Thompson, Rice University
“This translation of Konopnicka's classic fairy tale is a true blessing not merely to a new generation of children who will be introduced to it for the first time but for all lovers of fantasy. As G. K. Chesterton reminds us in 'Ethics of Elfland' and as Tolkien insists in his seminal essay 'On Fairy-Stories', classic tales from the realm of Faërie offer a restorative to grown-ups in need of consolation and the recovery of a clearer view of reality. ”
— Joseph Pearce, author of Tolkien: Man and Myth and Further Up and Further In: Understanding Narnia
“For those who love fairy stories, and the folklore of Europe in general, this charming and deftly translated English edition of Maria Konopnicka’s classic will offer numerous delights. Christopher Zakrzewski's poetic gifts are unsurpassed.”
—Michael D. O’Brien, author of Island of the World
Christopher Adam Zakrzewski—(born 1948)—literary translator, teacher, scholar. Raised in the UK and Ontario, Canada. Doctoral studies at the Department of Slavonic Studies, University of British Columbia. Professor of languages and literature at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College in Barry’s Bay, Ontario. He is the translator of Adam Mickiewicz’s classic Polish epic poem Pan Tadeusz, published, concurrently, by Academic Studies Press. Now retired, he and his wife Wendy live in the village of Wilno, Ontario. They have five children and nine grandchildren.
Translator’s Preface
How King Glistel’s Court Chronicler Discovered Spring
Spratkin’s Expedition
King Glistel Leaves the Crystal Grotto
Spratkin Meets Little Orphan Mary
Good Times
Maestro Sarabanda’s Concert
Bluebonnet and His Student
At the Palace of the Mountain Queen
Midsummer’s Night Eve
A Thief in the Night
Half-Lord’s Alms
The Gnomes Return Underground
A Short Biography of Maria Konopnicka (1842-1910)
About the Translator