Nobleman Zavalnia or Belarus in Fantastical Tales

First published in 1846, Nobleman Zavalnia or Belarus in Fantastical Tales is one of the earliest works of Belarusian literature. At Zavalnia's hearth, peasants, nobles, and wanderers spin stories of witches, restless souls, enchanted forests, and haunted battlefields. Their tales reflect a society still bound by serfdom, set against the strange year of 1817, known as the "year without a summer."

Written four decades after the Russian Empire's annexation of much of the Grand Duchy of Lithuan...