Books of Jacob | Slow Read | Context
History of the ‘Other Europe’ 1640 to 1800
Olga Tokarczuk, The Books of Jacob is an historical novel inspired by Tokarczuk’s curiosity about why the astonishing story of Jacob Frank was so little known, even in Poland.
So don’t worry if you don’t know much of the history. Tokarczuk brings the history to life brilliantly in this novel. The story of Jacob Frank, his followers and his opponents will intrigue you as much as it did Tokarczuk.
You do not need to read histories of Poland or the Frankist movement or Judaism before reading the novel. You can do what I did. I dived into the book and let it teach me the history. I looked up names, ideas, references, and places on the internet as I went. I learned so much about the history of Poland, Eastern Europe, Judaism, the Ottoman Empire and the ‘Other Europe’ just by reading this wonderful novel.
How Tokarczuk Wrote The Books of Jacob
It does help to keep in mind Tokarczuk’s approach to writing history. The Books of Jacob was her first venture into history writing. She never previously had much interest in historical novels. She thought they often presented clichés of the past. But she became a history buff through writing and researching the novel over eight years. She was meticulous and faithful. She went to archives and gave voice to forgotten characters. She checked facts with historians. She saw the many possibilities of interpreting this fantastic journey with her imagination.
In “How I Wrote The Books of Jacob”, she wrote:
The Books of Jacob is a historical novel written in the full knowledge that the binding historical narrative is something that has been formulated over and over again. … Of course, it is impossible to leave oneself and one’s own time behind entirely. In this sense the historical novel doesn’t exist, because its roots are always stuck in the author’s present day. History is simply a never-ending interpretation of real and imagined events from the past that allows us to perceive formerly invisible meanings in it.
It also helps to approach this history of the “Other Europe” (Eastern Europe, Ottoman Europe, religious heresies) as intertwined with the familiar histories of the West or Western Europe that are better known. Of course, the Holocaust and the long centuries of the persecution of Jewish people figure in the history. Tokarczuk says she cannot imagine Polish History without Jewish history, although there is a powerful tradition of Polish history that presents Poland as a martyred Catholic country.
Other familiar events from ‘Western’ history appear in the novel: the Seven Years War (which many historians describe today as the true first ‘world war’), the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. The story even reaches, at one point, the United States Supreme Court.
History of the ‘Other Europe’ 1640 to 1800
The events of the novel span the rise of Frankism, major political changes in Poland-Lithuania, and the broader context of Jewish messianic movements in the 18th century. It invites readers to consider the nature of belief, power, and identity in a turbulent historical period.
Some of the themes of historical context dramatised in the novel are:
Religious Syncretism: Jacob and his followers blend elements of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and there were similar blends of mysticism and enlightenment across Europe at this time.
Religious Conflict: Tensions between Jews, Catholics, and other religious groups grew in Poland. The Counter-Reformation was influencing Europe, and Islam had its own tensions with Sufi sects and more orthodox beliefs.
Power and Charisma: The novel explores Jacob's ability to attract and manipulate followers. Why do people follow charismatic flawed gurus?
Identity and Transformation: Characters frequently change names, religions, and allegiances.
Colonial Dynamics: The book examines Poland's role as a colonial power over non-Polish territories, and how it related to the power of the Catholic Church and prestige of the Polish nobility.
Historical Complexity: Tokarczuk weaves together multiple perspectives and genres to create a rich tapestry of 18th-century life, which she takes great care to reproduce accurately.
Women's Roles: Women play crucial roles in the story, including powerful figures like Kossakowska and writers like Drużbacka
Boundaries and Border-Crossing: The novel explores how people cross geographical, moral, political, and spiritual boundaries. They did it then. They do it now.
The Enlightenment and Cultural Exchange: The Enlightenment was affecting many countries, including Poland. European and Ottoman cultures exchanged ideas and practices. Mystics and scientists did too.
The End of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth
Finally, most of the story occurs in the four decades between 1750 and 1790. This period coincides with the disintegration and partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Over the course of the Slow Read I will provide weekly bite-sized insights into the historical context of the novel.
Below the paywall for paid subscribers, I have some extra notes on Polish-Lithuanian history.
And as a bonus for paid subscribers, I share a downloadable pdf with a history timeline from 1640 to 1918 as a reference guide.
To help you follow the background events and fantastic journeys of The Books of Jacob.