The Funeral of the Queen by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz – Editing the Text
The article mainly quotes a previously unpublished manuscript of Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz’s novel about Bona Sforza, entitled The Funeral of the Queen, which he has worked on between the 6th of June 1949 and 1953. The editor presents the origins of the book and its development. Additionally, all documents that Iwaszkiewicz researched and collected while working on the novel are included in the book, including notes, nine versions of the first sentence of the novel, and the letters from Ludwik Kolankowski and Zofia Zarembianka, who provided Iwaszkiewicz with factual information. The conclusion of the article reveals the nature of Iwaszkiewicz’s writing, showing that a huge amount of documents he researched– instead of helping him – paralysed him.