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''Pharaoh'' ((ポーランド語:Faraon)) is the fourth and last major novel by the Polish writer Bolesław Prus (1847–1912). Composed over a year's time in 1894–95 and published in 1897, it was the sole historical novel by an author who had earlier disapproved of historical novels on the ground that they inevitably distort history. ''Pharaoh'' has been described by Czesław Miłosz as a "novel on... mechanism() of state power and, as such, ... probably unique in world literature of the nineteenth century.... Prus, () selecting the reign of 'Pharaoh Ramses XIII'〔The last pharaoh of Egypt's Twentieth Dynasty and New Kingdom (and Egypt's last Ramesside pharaoh) was actually Ramses XI.〕 in the eleventh century BCE, sought a perspective that was detached from... pressures of () and censorship. Through his analysis of the dynamics of an ancient Egyptian society, he... suggest() an archetype of the struggle for power that goes on within any state."〔Czesław Miłosz, ''The History of Polish Literature'', pp. 299–302〕 ''Pharaoh'' is set in the Egypt of 1087–85 BCE as that country experiences internal stresses and external threats that will culminate in the fall of its Twentieth Dynasty and New Kingdom. The young protagonist Ramses learns that those who would challenge the powers that be are vulnerable to co-option, seduction, subornation, defamation, intimidation and assassination. Perhaps the chief lesson, belatedly absorbed by Ramses as pharaoh, is the importance, to power, of knowledge. Prus' vision of the fall of an ancient civilization derives some of its power from the author's intimate awareness of the final demise of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, a century before the completion of the novel. Preparatory to writing ''Pharaoh'', Prus immersed himself in ancient Egyptian history, geography, customs, religion, art and writings. In the course of telling his story of power, personality, and the fates of nations, he produced a compelling literary depiction of life at every level of ancient Egyptian society. Further, he offers a vision of mankind as rich as Shakespeare's, ranging from the sublime to the quotidian, from the tragic to the comic.〔Zygmunt Szweykowski, ''Twórczość Bolesława Prusa'', pp. 345–47.〕 The book is written in limpid prose and is imbued with poetry, leavened with humor, graced with moments of transcendent beauty.〔Christopher Kasparek, "Prus' ''Pharaoh'': the Creation of a Historical Novel," ''The Polish Review'', 1994, no. 1, p. 49.〕 ''Pharaoh'' has been translated into twenty languages and adapted as a 1966 Polish feature film. It is also known to have been Joseph Stalin's favourite book. ==Publication== ''Pharaoh'' comprises a compact, substantial introduction; sixty-seven chapters; and an evocative epilogue (the latter omitted at the book's original publication, and restored in the 1950s). Like Prus' previous novels, ''Pharaoh'' debuted (1895–96) in newspaper serialization—in the Warsaw ''Tygodnik Ilustrowany'' (Illustrated Weekly). It was dedicated "To my wife, Oktawia Głowacka, ''née'' Trembińska, as a small token of esteem and affection." Unlike the author's earlier novels, ''Pharaoh'' had first been composed in its entirety, rather than being written in chapters from issue to issue.〔Edward Pieścikowski, ''Bolesław Prus'', p.157.〕 This may account for its often being described as Prus' "best-composed novel"〔For example, by Janina Kulczycka-Saloni, ''"Pozytywizm, IX. Bolesław Prus"'' ("Positivism, IX. Bolesław Prus"), in Jan Zygmunt Jakubowski, ed., ''Literatura polska od średniowiecza do pozytywizmu'', p. 631.〕—indeed, "one of the best-composed Polish novels."〔Wilhelm Feldman, ''"Altruizm bohaterski"'' ("Heroic Altruism"), in Teresa Tyszkiewicz, ''Bolesław Prus'', p. 339.〕 The original 1897 book edition and some subsequent ones divided the novel into three volumes. Later editions have presented it in two volumes or in a single one. Except in wartime, the book has never been out of print in Poland. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Pharaoh (novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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