Book | Anna Brzezińska | Daughters of Wawel

The palace walls hold more secrets than the chronicles.

“Well, look at that! The queen has given birth up in the castle, and we have a queen of our own here in the chamber. Only one bore a daughter, and the other a bastard dwarf.”

On the same night in November 1526, two girls were born in Krakow: Catherine, daughter of Polish King Sigismund I the Old and Queen Bona Sforza, and little Dosia, the illegitimate daughter of the maidservant Regina and the maltster Bartholomew. Fate decreed that Dosia would find herself at the royal court and become an inseparable part of Catherine’s life.

Growing up alongside the princess and her sisters, Dosia experienced the daily life of royalty and became a witness to feasts, weddings, conspiracies, and dramatic events. She saw not only the magnificent halls of Wawel Castle but also alchemists’ workshops, lying-in rooms, and houses of ill repute.

Dosia saw everything. And she forgot nothing.

In her novel “Daughters of Wawel”, popular Polish writer and historian Anna Brzezińska paints a detailed picture of women’s lives in the time of the last Jagiellons. The heroines of this story are not only the daughters of King Sigismund I the Old but also ordinary women of the 16th century, whose fates were often cruel.

This is an intriguing, innovatively conceived historical novel about the flourishing of the Jagiellonian dynasty and, at the same time, the first signs of its approaching twilight.

“Nothing like this has been seen before. This is a story about Renaissance Poland, Wawel Castle, and the Jagiellonian royal family from a woman’s perspective. And women see more – they see the kitchen, the bedroom, the treasury, and the stable. They hear whispers in the remotest corners, smell secrets, schemes, and deceptions.”
Wojciech Orliński, “Gazeta Wyborcza”

Anna Brzezińska (b. 1971) – popular Polish writer and historian, three-time recipient of the prestigious J. Zajdel Literary Award, author of novels and short stories, and a contributor to “Polityka” and other magazines.

Author: Anna Brzezińska
Publisher: ALMA LITTERA
Year of publication: 2025
ISBN: 9786090164631
Format: 143 × 235 mm / hardcover
Pages: 672
Language: Lithuanian