The Mother of Kings. Hlinka’s Papers Kraszewski Jozef Historical novellas by Jozef Kraszewski, which come out in Belarusian for the first time, are interesting for their plots and truthful description, despite the fact that they often push the boundaries of fact. The writer skillfully uses historic and ethnographical records. The Global Literature Treasure series offers Belarusian readers historical novellas by Jozef Kraszewski dealing with Belarusian history. The Mother of Kings focuses on developments surrounding Sofia, the last wife of the Polish King Jagiello. The narrative covers a period from 1421, when Sofia was 16 to 1434, when her elder son was elected Polish king. Kraszewski mentions that Sofia was a member of Belarusian Duke Halshanski’s family. Hlinka’s Papers takes the reader back to the second half of the 18th century. Its main character is Karal II Stanislau Radzivil. Radzivil was in opposition to Poland’s last King Stanislaw August Poniatowski. He was even forced to flee abroad but regained his property and the post of Wilno governor with help from Catherine the Great. He accepted the king but disliked him anyway. Jozef Kraszewski is the father of Polish historical literature whose works influenced Nobel-Prize winning novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz. (Z.K.)