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Sienkiewicz, Henryk (1846-1916)(pen name of Wola Okrzejska) Polish novelist born of an impoverished noble family.

Published his first novel, In Vain, in 1872. Spent much of his life traveling. Came to the U.S. in 1876. Wrote Portrait of America (1876-1878) and between 1883 and 1888 wrote a war trilogy, the first volume of which (With Fire and Sword) was exceptionally popular. Also wrote Quo Vadis (1896), Without Dogma (1899), and Teutonic Knights (1900). Sienkiewicz won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1905. Quo Vadis (1896) Quo Vadis, a historical novel of ancient Rome about Petronius Arbiter (the author of the Satyricon) is the only Sienkiewicz novel known outside of Poland. A number of rather pedestrian film versions have been produced, the first in 1912. Despite everything, including his declining reputation outside of Poland, Quo Vadis, and Sienkiewicz' other works, are worth reading.