Marek Krajewski (born 4 September 1966, in

Wrocław Wrocław is a city in southwestern Poland, and the capital of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. It is the largest city and historical capital of the region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the Oder River in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Eu ...

) is a Polish crime writer and

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

. He is best known for his series of

novel A novel is an extended work of narrative fiction usually written in prose and published as a book. The word derives from the for 'new', 'news', or 'short story (of something new)', itself from the , a singular noun use of the neuter plural of ...

s set in pre-war Wrocław (which was, at the time, Breslau) with the policeman Eberhard Mock as the protagonist. His novels have been translated into 20 languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Hebrew, Greek, Swedish and Russian.

Life and career

He was born in

Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...

. In 1985, he graduated from the Juliusz Słowacki High School No. 9 in Wrocław. Between 1985 and 1991 he studied

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

at the University of Wrocław. In 1992, he obtained an MA degree and in 1999, he received a doctoral degree. He worked as a librarian and later as an

assistant professor Assistant professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. Overview This position is generally taken after earning a doct ...

and lecturer at the Institute of Classical Philology and Ancient Culture of the University of Wrocław. Since 2007, he has focused on pursuing his professional career as a writer of primarily

crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

. In 2005, he was the recipient of the Paszport Polityki Award presented by the '' Polityka'' magazine. His other awards include the High Calibre Award (Polish: ''Nagroda Wielkiego Kalibru''), the Witryna Award conferred by Polish booksellers and the Book Institute Award for best Polish

crime novel Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a profession ...

. In 2015, he was awarded Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis. In 2016, he also won the Georg Dehio Book Prize – a prize which recognizes authors who "in their literary, scholarly or public work, address the themes of the common culture and history of the German people and their Eastern neighbors at a high level and from a broad perspective." In 2018, Polish filmmaker Patryk Vega directed a

crime thriller Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...

'' The Plagues of Breslau'', which is loosely based on a series of crime novels by Krajewski. In 2019, he received the Medal of the 100th Anniversary of Regaining Independence conferred by the President of Poland Andrzej Duda to individuals with significant contributions to Polish culture. The same year, the Wrocław-based Capitol Theatre staged for the first time a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

entitled ''Mock. Czarna burleska'' (Mock: The Black Burlesque) directed by Konrad Imiela and inspired by Krajewski's novels revolving around the main character - Eberhard Mock. In 2023, he was awarded the title of an honorary citizen of the city of

Novels

Eberhard Mock series

* ''Death in Breslau'' (Śmierć w Breslau), 1999, . English edition: MacLehose Press/Quercus, London 2008; Melville House, New York, 2012, * ''The End of the World in Breslau'' (Koniec świata w Breslau), 2003. English edition: MacLehose Press/Quercus, London 2009; Melville House, New York, 2013, * ''Phantoms in Breslau'' (Widma w mieście Breslau), 2005. English edition: MacLehose Press/Quercus, London 2010. * ''Fortress Breslau'' (Festung Breslau), 2006 * ''Plague in Breslau'' (Dżuma w Breslau), 2007 * ''The Minotaur's Head'' (Głowa Minotaura), 2009. English edition: MacLehose Press/Quercus, London 2012. * ''Mock'', Znak 2016 * ''The Human Zoo'' (Ludzkie zoo), Znak 2017 * ''The Duel'' (Pojedynek), Znak 2018 * ''Golem'', Znak 2019 * ''Moloch'', Znak 2020 * ''Diabeł stróż'' (Guardian Devil), Znak 2021 * ''Błaganie o śmierć'' (Begging for Death), Znak 2022

Jarosław Pater series

* ''Suicide Avenue'' (Aleja samobójców), 2008 * ''Cemetery Roses'' (Róże cmentarne), 2009

Edward Popielski series

* ''The Minotaur's Head'' (Głowa Minotaura), 2009. English edition: MacLehose Press/Quercus, London 2012. * ''Erinyes'' (Erynie), Znak 2010 * ''Charon's Numbers'' (Liczby Charona), Znak 2011 * ''The Rivers of Hades'' (Rzeki Hadesu), Znak 2012 * ''In the Depths of Darkness'' (W otchłani mroku), Znak 2013 * ''The Lord of the Numbers'' (Władca liczb), Znak 2014 * ''The Arena of Rats'' (Arena szczurów), Znak 2015 * ''The Girl with Four Fingers'' (Dziewczyna o czterech palcach), Znak 2019 * ''The Executioner's Assistant'' (Pomocnik kata), Znak 2020 * ''The City of Spies'' (Miasto szpiegów), Znak 2021 * ''Time of Traitors'' (Czas zdrajców), Znak 2022 * ''Parasite'' (Pasożyt), Znak 2023

Other

* ''The Dead Have a Voice'' (Umarli mają głos), co-written with Jerzy Kawecki, Znak 2015 * ''Demonomachia'', Znak 2022

References

External links

Marek Krajewski webpage (in Polish)

W otchłani mroku / In the Depths of Darkness
- review {{DEFAULTSORT:Krajewski, Marek Polish crime writers Polish crime fiction writers 1966 births Living people Writers of historical mysteries 20th-century Polish writers 21st-century Polish writers 20th-century Polish male writers Writers from Wrocław