Dvie pripoviesti — Francuzovo razkuće; Što je krivo?

Vjenceslav Novak’s Dvie pripoviesti brings together Francuzovo razkuće and Što je krivo?, published in one volume in 1897. It introduces a lesser-known part of the work of a major Croatian realist, whose fiction extends well beyond the titles most frequently included in school anthologies and modern selections.

Novak’s writing is characterised by an interest in individuals within their social surroundings, the difficulties of ordinary life and the tension between personal aspirations and limiting circumstances. Exploring his less accessible fiction provides a fuller understanding of an author recognised for his sensitivity to human vulnerability.

Published during the author’s lifetime, this volume also holds interest for the history of the book. The original spelling preserved in its titles reflects late nineteenth-century Croatian literary and publishing conventions. Its place in Matica hrvatska’s Zabavna knjižnica series connects it with contemporary efforts to bring domestic literature to a wider readership.

The volume will appeal to readers of Croatian classics, researchers of Novak’s writing and collectors of historical editions. Its distinctive attraction lies in the combination of literary interest and publishing history, offering access to the author beyond his most frequently reprinted works.