Some of my reviews express the idea that nothing in our world is a lone island. And I had mentioned in a previous one that Ikeda’s prominent example of her promoting France in Japan was Rose of Versailles, to which another work I mentioned was linked: Glory of Napoleon.
Unfortunately, I found translations neither in English nor in French. Instead, I discovered an English translation of “Polish Secret History: Until the Borders of the Sky”, that is in turn linked to Glory of Napoleon. And here I am, reviewing this obscure find.
The American and French Revolutions hold value for the first part of the narrative, and so do power struggles between Russia, Prussia and Austria, that culminate in the division of Poland. Poland had entered a period of decline, its independence being threatened by major powers and the matter being complicated by internal divisions that undermined governance.
In order to safeguard his motherland, Józef is raised as a patriot and educated in military studies and European languages, even serving as an Austrian officer to acquire combat experience. Many of his compatriots devoted likewise their lives, but their visions could be conflicting, an example being his childhood friend Tadeusz Kościuszko.
Fun fact: Tadeusz Kościuszko became a national hero in Poland, Lithuania, Belarus… and the USA. He is one of two Europeans serving in the American Revolutionary War portrayed by Riyoko Ikeda (alongside Axel von Fersen).
The second part of the narrative is connected to Napoleon Bonaparte, who promises freedom to the divided and subjugated Poles. After their endeavor to secure an alliance with him, he restores independence by founding the Duchy of Warsaw, in order to secure more allies for his campaign in Russia. From this point, Józef is deeply involved in the Napoleonic Wars as a Marshal of the French Empire. Anything more will head towards spoiler territory.
Instead, he is portrayed as illegitimate issue and von Kinsky as a wicked stepmother with a (fictional) biological son named Felix Poniatowski, who made Józef’s childhood miserable and affected his growth as a person and patriot. I disagree with those creative liberties, although Józef is a complex and interesting character, with many phases and development.
[b.] The cast is mostly composed of famous historical figures such as Czarina Catherine II of Russia, alongside less-known ones such as Maria Walewska (known as the Polish mistress of Napoleon) and Henrietta de Vauban. Though not overly complex, all play their given roles decently, be it as sources of conflict, part of the intrigues or as benefactors of Poland.
[b.] Overall, PSH was enjoyable because of its rare setting and mature story, though not rare concerning premise of a struggle of an oligarchy for political survival, in the midst of broader geopolitical games. Also, if it were as long as Rose of Versailles, it would be a masterpiece beyond measure.
There were insufficient chapters to establish a more complex cast and portray daily lives of separate classes (e.g. developments on serfdom were barely referenced). Nonetheless, it’s successful in expressing this: French, American and Russian history was also Polish history, and likewise Polish history was also French, American and Russian.