The Story of Gnomes and Orphan Marisa

The gift illustrated edition is printed on matte coated paper Omela with a bookmark of the same color as the headband. You can read the entire book in electronic format by following the link on the SZKEO website.

Maria Józefowna Konopnicka (1842–1910) was a Polish writer, translator, and literary critic. "The Story of Gnomes and Orphan Marisa" is her most famous work for children. In it, small underground wizards help a girl find her missing geese. The text of the fairy tale is provided in the translation by Vukol Mikhailovich Lavrov. The edition is adorned with color and black-and-white illustrations by Polish artists.

Funny tales featuring gnome characters, including Repейник, Solominка, and other little ones, their glorious king Ogonek, his court historian Chepukhinsky-Vzdorny, orphan Marisya, dog Gasya, musician Sarabanda, frog Poluboyarin, fox Objedalo, queen Tatре, peasant Skrobek, and many other characters, were created by Polish writer Maria Józefowna Konopnicka (1842-1910). She is remembered in modern Poland. Several streets and squares in Poland are named after Konopnicka. Since the mid-20th century, a museum dedicated to the writer has been operating in Polish Zarnowiec. In 2010, the Maria Konopnicka International Prize was established in Warsaw, and this is not surprising, as her literary heritage is quite significant. Interestingly, Konopnicka (née Vasilovska) received only home education and spent just one year in one of the monastery boarding schools in Warsaw. At the same time, Maria Józefowna did not only write for children - she was also a poet, translator, journalist, critic, and wrote extensively for adults. Her work was highly valued by Nobel Prize winner in literature Henryk Sienkiewicz.

Konopnicka began writing for children quite late - in 1884. By that time, Maria Józefowna was already known in Poland as a political activist and patriot who fought for both the independence of her country and women's rights. She worked extensively with Polish folklore; perhaps the writer drew inspiration for her fairy tales from it. Several of her poems are stylized as folk songs. One of Konopnicka's poems was unofficially Poland's anthem for a time. The story of the little orphan and the gnomes who helped her became the most known children's work of the writer.

Russian-speaking readers were introduced to Konopnicka's fairy tales by the translator and journalist Vukol Mikhailovich Lavrov (1852-1912). His father traded bread in Yelets, and Vukol himself completed only three grades of the Yelets city school, which did not prevent him from later publishing the magazine "Russian Thought" in Moscow. Lavrov translated extensively from Polish, particularly the novels of Henryk Sienkiewicz "With Fire and Sword", "The Deluge", and other of his works. In 1904, Vukol Mikhailovich became an honorary member of the Society of Lovers of Russian Literature for his literary and educational activities.

Konopnicka's fairy tales were extremely popular in Poland at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. They were repeatedly reprinted, adorned with illustrations by various Polish artists. Readers can find examples of such illustrations in this book.