Boleslaw Prus was the pseudonum of Aleksander Glowacki (1847-1912), Poland’s prominent realist writer and essayist. His youthful experience of participating in the 1863 January Uprising against Tsarist rule is a constant presence in his work. Three of his other major novels – The Outpost, The Emancipated and Pharaoh – have also been translated into English.