Book
With Fire and Sword, Book III
First published 1884
Polish forces withdraw into the fortified camp at Zbarazh as Khmelnytsky and his Tatar allies surround them with a much larger army. Jan Skrzetuski and his companions endure hunger, bombardment and repeated assaults while the defenders wait for relief from King John II Casimir. Outside the siege, Helena remains in danger and Bohun’s determination to possess her continues to drive a second, more personal conflict.
Skrzetuski undertakes a desperate journey through enemy lines to carry news of the garrison’s condition, placing duty to the Commonwealth ahead of his own survival. The final volume brings together the military resistance at Zbarazh, the royal relief effort and the rescue of Helena. Its resolution restores the fictional lovers, but the devastation surrounding them leaves the political and human causes of the uprising unresolved.
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