The Renaissance times meant not only the marvelous flourishing of civilizations, arts, and cities. These were also times when noble dynasties reigned in Europe – and among them the Jagiellonians, who ruled the largest territory of the Old World. But where there are dynasties there must also be conspiracies, betrayals, secret alliances, scandals, and palace intrigues. Brzezińska tells us about history in a way that should interest everyone – not for her the boring sermons or dry presentations of facts and dates. On the contrary, her depiction of the past is as interesting as the finest adventure novel. The Daughters of Wawel Castle is a history book written in an experimental and innovative fashion, freely intertwining essayistic and fictional fragments. This allows us to discover a great deal about the Renaissance epoch, while simultaneously being seduced by the magic of these stories told by Brzezińska, an experienced author known for her ability to create vivid and multifaceted worlds. But this is not all – perhaps the book’s most important asset is the female perspective taken by the author. Here we look at well-known figures and events from Polish and European history from a totally different perspective, and voice is given to extraordinarily important figures who have generally been passed over in silence. This is mandatory reading for all those who love a bit of good political intrigue.

The Author on Her Book

I wrote The Daughters of Wawel Castle to fill in the gaps of how we imagine the times of Sigismund – the golden age of the Polish­ ­Lithuanian monarchy of the Jagiellonians – with a look at the women who were in the Royal Wawel Castle: the royal wives and daughters, as well as their court ladies, the wives of noblemen and craftsmen, servants, the dwarves, the harlots, and the midwives. This is why every chapter of the book speaks of a different female experience – of childbirth, of post-partum, of mothers and nurturing small children, of rearing and educating girls, of handiwork as a childrearing tool, of marital ideals, of court dance, ceremonies, tournaments, and many other aspects of women’s lives. I wanted to show how certain biological facts, such as childbirth, are also social facts and have histories of their own, while institutions like the family, which seem permanent, also transform. I have tried to reconstruct, as faithfully and fully as possible, the world of the little Jagiellonian princesses, growing up in very wide cultural panorama, among tales drawn from the heritage of Antiquity, from the Bible, and from the emerging national culture, and then to show how – given to husbands in the Reich, Hungary, and Sweden – they were instrumental in transmitting blood and culture.

And no, I did not stop to wonder who this book was for: I was writing about things that I myself found interesting. But I also wanted to show that social history is fascinating, and so I hope that it will be appreciated by all those who hated that boring kaleidoscope of battles that school textbooks give us.

“You read this book with your heart in your throat, while savoring every word. There’s a sensuality that reminds us of Patrick Süskind’s Perfume, and epic mysticism and thoughts that sometimes bring to mind Olga Tokarczuk’s The Books of Jacob. Anna Brzezińska’s novel is one of a kind. It is very feminine. And full of that splendid, vital, feminine wisdom you never find in men…”.

Magdalena Nowacka-Goik, Dziennik Zachodni

“The Daughters of Wawel Castle is rich, sumptuous, perhaps more Baroque than Renaissance in its portrayal of 16thcentury women, dour Jagiellonian princesses set against the declining golden era of the dynasty and Republic. Worth examining closely, to delight in the whole picture or just stray details”.

Roman Ochocki, katedra.nast.pl