Lepi Janičar
(The Beautiful Janissary) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
His work The Beautiful Janissary showcases author Rado Murnik’s skills as a master reteller of historical events depicting the era of Ottoman incursions into Slovenian territory. The novel features beautiful descriptions of both courtly and Romani lives. The connective core of the plot spotlights the beautiful countess Alijana, the only child of count Blagaj from the town of Vinica at the river Kolpa, who is kidnapped by the Ottomans with some Romani help. (source: publisher)
Edited by: Mestna knjižnica Ljubljana
Comment:
The Beautiful Janissary is a historical novel set in the 15th century. It is based on the same author’s novel called Count Blagaj’s Daughter, which was intended for adult audiences, but is adapted for younger readers, abridged and given a happy ending instead of a tragic one. The novel was originally published posthumously in 1954 and was immensely popular with the youth – it was reprinted several times. Its most appealing aspect is doubtlessly the subplot featuring the kidnapped young noblewoman countess Alijana from Vinica castle in Kranjska. Having been taken away, she is forced to wear boy’s clothing, take on the name Omar and behave like a boy. She is then sold into Turkish military where she becomes a member of Sultan’s elite janissary troop. Nobody knows that there is a girl hidden in the uniform. During the merciless and bloody period of incursions into Bosnia, the Balkans and Kranjska, she develops into a brave warrior and a steadfastly moral person looking for her roots, unwilling to plunder her own country, which she manages to avoid doing thanks to a slice of good fortune. The plot is narrated in a thrilling style full of suspense. There are also several women present in the novel. Most of them are good and loving, such as Alijana’s mother who sang her a lullaby which stayed in her memory forever, or the sultan’s wife Fatima who takes on the role of Alijana’s second mother, but there are also bad ones such as the evil “black snake” Salda who, bitter from jealousy and a past rejection, punishes Alijana who has had no hand in it.