Kletva 2

The Curse 2 is the second part of August Šenoa's great historical novel, one of the most ambitious works of Croatian literature. The plot continues in the dramatic 14th century, during a time of deep divisions between the Zagreb Kaptol and the bourgeois Grič and the rebellion of Croatian nobles against King Sigismund.

In this volume, conflicts escalate, political intrigues intensify, and the burden of the bishop's curse falls increasingly heavily on the fates of individuals. Šenoa masterfully develops complex characters, depicting the conflict between secular and ecclesiastical authority, noble ambitions, bourgeois aspirations for freedom, and personal dramas filled with love, revenge, and betrayal. The novel paints a broad fresco of medieval life – from noble courts and kaptol palaces to city streets and fortresses – with rich historical details, tense plots, and lively dialogues.

Although Šenoa left the novel unfinished (it was continued by Josip Eugen Tomić), his style in this part remains exceptionally strong: epic momentum, national enthusiasm and deep knowledge of historical circumstances make The Curse a classic of Croatian historical prose.

This edition is part of the popular and visually extremely attractive edition of The Collected Works of August Šenoa published by Naklada knjižare Preporod in Zagreb in 1942–1943. The second volume of The Curse is equipped with strong and expressive drawings by Andrija Maurović, which perfectly evoke the dramatic atmosphere of the Middle Ages, the tension of the conflict and the everyday life of that turbulent period. Maurović's illustrations on the cover and within the text give the book a special artistic charm and high collector's value.