Nobleman Zavalnia, or Belarus in Fantastical Tales (Premium Illustrated Edition)

Expected December 2026.

A founding work of Belarusian literature, in its first complete English translation, now as a full-colour keepsake edition.

At Zavalnia’s hearth, peasants, nobles and wanderers spin stories of witches, restless souls, enchanted forests and haunted battlefields, set in the strange years after the “year without a summer.” Written in the 1840s, decades after the Russian Empire annexed the Belarusian lands, Barszczewski’s collection blends folklore, folk horror and political allegory.

This premium edition brings the tales to life in full colour with original illustrations by Belarusian artist Nasta Lee: a frontispiece, chapter openers and full-page spreads throughout, printed on a large 8 × 10 in page.

About this edition

The complete text of Nobleman Zavalnia, together with two companion tales: The Wooden Old Man and the Insect Woman (1847) and A Soul Not in Its Own Body (1849). Translated from the Polish by Olya Ianovskaia.

Can’t wait for December? The trade paperback and EPUB are available now.

Read it with

Remnants of the Ancient Worldview among Belarusians by Adam Bahdanovich, the ethnographic record of the beliefs behind these tales.

• Author: Jan Barszczewski (Ян Баршчэўскі)
• Translator: Olya Ianovskaia
• Illustrator: Nasta Lee
• Original title: Szlachcic Zawalnia, czyli Białoruś w fantastycznych opowiadaniach (1844–1846)
• Format: Hardcover, full colour, 8 × 10 in, 304 pages
• ISBN: 978-1-7383142-9-4
• Expected: December 2026
• Publisher: Grunwald Publishing, Canada