born May 5, 1846, Wola Okrzejska, Pol.
died Nov. 15, 1916, Vevey, Switz.
Polish novelist.
In 1869 he began to publish critical works showing the influence of positivism . He worked as a newspaperman and published successful short stories before producing the great trilogy consisting of With Fire and Sword (1884), The Deluge (1886), and Pan Michael (188788). Describing Poland's struggles against Cossacks, Tatars, Swedes, and Turks, the novels stress Polish heroism in a vivid style of epic clarity and simplicity. The widely translated Quo Vadis? (1896), set in Rome under Nero, established his international reputation. He received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905.