Ashes

New York & London: Alfred A Knopf, 1928. First American edition. Octavo. Publisher's quarter black cloth stamped in gilt, over tan buckram stamped in black. Deckle edges. Vol. I: 376; Vol. II:  377-758. Minor light red staining on vol. II front buckram, scratches on vol. I bottom text block, faintest rubbing on spine ends, still a very good copy. 

This first American edition of Stefan Zeromski's Ashes is translated by Helen Stankiewicz Zand, and was originally published as Popioly. Zeromski was nominated four times for the Nobel prize in literature and has the support of Joseph Conrad in his candidacy. 3 years before this edition was published, Zeromski passed away which at the time of his death he was being hailed as the “conscience of Polish literature.” He spent the last months of his life in an apartment in the Royal Castle in Warsaw provided by the president for literary achievements.

The story follows the life of Raphael Olbromski, a young man navigating the complexities of feudal society in Poland. In this novel, Zeromski questioned whether sacrificing Polish blood for Napoleon Bonaparte truly served Poland's path to real independence or just left the country in "ashes". It is a poignant reflection on the intersection of individual destinies and historical movements in 19th-century Poland.