''The Czar's Madman'' ( et, Keisri hull) is a 1978 novel by

Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...

n writer

Jaan Kross Jaan Kross (19 February 1920 – 27 December 2007) was an Estonian writer. He won the 1995 International Nonino Prize in Italy. Early life Born in Tallinn, Estonia, son of a skilled metal-worker, Jaan Kross studied at Jakob Westholm Gymnasium ...

Plot introduction

This historical novel is about a

Livonia Livonia ( liv, Līvõmō, et, Liivimaa, fi, Liivinmaa, German and Scandinavian languages: ', archaic German: ''Liefland'', nl, Lijfland, Latvian and lt, Livonija, pl, Inflanty, archaic English: ''Livland'', ''Liwlandia''; russian: Ли ...

n nobleman, , who has married a peasant girl named EevaThe couple had one son , who made a career in the

Imperial Russian Navy The Imperial Russian Navy () operated as the navy of the Russian Tsardom and later the Russian Empire from 1696 to 1917. Formally established in 1696, it lasted until dissolved in the wake of the February Revolution of 1917. It developed from ...

. to prove everyone that good men are equal before nature, God and ideals. Eeva's brother Jakob analyses von Bock's life throughout his journal and tries to figure out if the nobleman is truly mad as everyone seems to believe. ''The Czar's Madman'' is arguably one of the best-known Estonian novels in the world.

Title

The "Czar's Madman" is a reference to the main character who has been imprisoned for being so bold as to talk frankly to the Czar. This is enough to bring accusations of 'insanity'.

Plot summary

The story is written in diary form, describing the impact of revolutionary thinking on the part of a family member. Aristocrat Timotheus von Bock (the diarist's brother in law) writes a letter to the Czar criticising the way in which the Czar's family runs the country. He justifies this act by an oath made to the Czar to give an honest appraisal of the situation. Von Bock is imprisoned as a traitor (although the reason for his imprisonment is kept secret, as is the letter) for 9 years before being released into house arrest on the basis that he is 'mad'.

Characters

*Timotheus "Timo" von Bock – main character and colonel *Eeva von Bock – wife of Timo *Jakob Mättik – brother of Eeva (the narrator of the story)

Awards and nominations

Winner of the 1989 ''Le prix du Meilleur livre étranger''.

Release details

*1978, Estonia, Tallinn: Eesti Raamat (ISBN NA), Pub date ? ? 1978, (original Estonian) *1992, UK, The Harvill Press (), Pub date 2 November 1992, Hardback (Translated by George Kurman) *1993, UK, The Harvill Press (), Pub date 2 August 1993, Hardback (Translated by George Kurman) *1993, UK, Pantheon Books (), Pub date ? January 1993, Hardback (Translated by Anselm Hollo) *1993, PT, Lisboa: Dom Quixote (), Paperback (Translated by Maria Antónia de Vasconcelos) *1994, US, W W Norton (), Pub date ? ? 1994, paperback (Translated by Anselm Hollo) *2001, UK, The Harvill Press (), Pub date 27 July 2001, Paperback (Translated by Anselm Hollo)

References

Estonian novels Historical novels 1978 novels {{1970s-hist-novel-stub