Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz (Polish pronunciation: [ˈxɛnrɨk ˈadam alɛˈksandɛr ˈpʲus ɕɛŋˈkʲevʲit͡ʂ]; also known as "Litwos" [ˈlitfɔs]; May 5, 1846 – November 15, 1916) was a Polish journalist and Nobel Prize-winning novelist. A Polish szlachcic (noble) of the Oszyk coat of arms, he was one of the most popular Polish writers at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1905 for his "outstanding merits as an epic writer."
Born into an impoverished noble family in Russian-ruled Poland, Sienkiewicz wrote historical novels set during the Rzeczpospolita (Polish Republic, or Commonwealth). Many of his novels were first serialized in newspapers, and even today are still in print. In Poland, he is best known for his historical novels "With Fire and Sword", "The Deluge", and "Fire in the Steppe" (The Trilogy) set during the 17th-century Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, while internationally he is best known for Quo Vadis, set in Nero's Rome. Quo Vadis has been filmed several times, most notably the 1951 version.

[Life
Sienkiewicz was born in Wola Okrzejska, a village in eastern Poland, that was part of the Russian Empire at the time. His was an impoverished noble family, on his father's side deriving from Tatars who had settled in Lithuania.His family used the coat of arms Oszyk. He was also descendant from the German Jauch family. His parents were Józef Sienkiewicz (1813–1896) and Stefania (née Cieciszowska), (1820–1873). Wola Okrzejska belonged to the writer's maternal grandmother, Felicjana Cieciszowska. He was baptized in the neighbouring village of Okrzeja in a church founded by his great-grandmother. His family moved several times and in the end settled in Warsaw in 1861.
In 1858, Henryk began secondary school in Warsaw. He did not receive very good grades but he was good at liberal arts. Because of the hard financial times, the nineteen-year-old Sienkiewicz took up a job as a tutor in the Weyher family in Płońsk. During this period he probably wrote his first novel, Ofiara (Sacrifice). He also worked on his publicized novel Na marne (In Vain). In addition, he finished his extramural classes in secondary school and in 1866 received the secondary school diploma. According to his parents' wishes, he passed the examination to the medical department at Warsaw University. After some time, he resigned and took up law studies. He ended up transferring to the Institute of Philology and History where he acquired a thorough knowledge of literature and Old Polish. In 1867 he made his first attempts in literature and wrote a rhyming piece Sielanka Młodości, which he submitted for publication in Tygodnik Ilustrowany (Illustrated Weekly) but it was rejected. In 1869 Sienkiewicz debuted as a journalist. Przegląd Tygodniowy (The Weekly Review) printed his review of a play, and Tygodnik Ilustrowany printed his essay about Mikołaj Sęp-Sarzyński. Sienkiewicz also wrote for Gazeta Polska (The Polish Gazette) and Niwa under the pen name "Litwos". In 1873 he started to write a column "Bez tytułu" ("Without a Title") in Gazeta Polska and in 1875 the series called "Chwila obecna" ("The Present Moment"). From 1874 he took care of the literary section of Niwa.
He wrote the novel Na marne (In Vain, 1871) and then Humoreski z teki Woroszyłły, Stary Sługa (The Old Servant, 1875), Hania (1876) and Selim Mirza (1877). The last three works are referred to as the Little Trilogy. Sienkiewicz also visited his relative Jadwiga Łuszczewska (known as "Deotyma") and the actress Helena Modrzejewska, as their dinner parties were very popular.
In 1876 he went to the United States with Helena Modrzejewska. He stayed for some time in California. During this period he wrote Listy z podróży (Letters From a Journey), which were published in Gazeta Polska and received wide recognition. He also wrote Szkice węglem (Sketches in Charcoal) in 1877. The trip to the USA inspired him to write the following works: Komedia z pomyłek (A Comedy of Errors, 1878), Przez stepy (1879), W krainie złota (1880), Za chlebem (For Bread, 1880), Latarnik (Lighthouse Keeper, 1881) Wspomnienia z Maripozy (1882), and Sachem (1883).
In 1878 Henryk Sienkiewicz returned to Europe. First, he stayed in London and then went to Paris for a year. In France he had got a chance to familiarize himself with naturalism, a new trend in literature. In the article "Z Paryża" ("From Paris"), written in 1879, he expressed a positive opinion on this trend. He stated that, "For a novel naturalism was in fact a brilliant, indispensable and perhaps the only step forward." Two years later he changed his mind and became more critical about this movement. He expressed his opinions on naturalism and writing in general in the following published works: O naturaliźmie w powieści (Naturalism in the Novel, 1881), O powieści historycznej (Historical novel, 1889), and Listy o Zoli (Letters about Zola, 1893).
His stay in America and his letter-writing published in Polish newspapers resulted in national recognition and interest. Bolesław Prus in his article entitled "Co p. Sienkiewicz wyrabia z piękniejszą połową Warszawy", published in Kurier Warszawski in 1880, nicely showed the popularity of the writer. "As he was back from America, almost every lady took tall and handsome men for Sienkiewicz... Finally, when I noticed that every man has got hair like Sienkiewicz and all of the young men, one by one, grow a royal beard and try to have a statuesque and swarthy face, I realised that I wanted to meet him personally... From the corner where I sit, I can see that the room is almost exclusively crowded with the fair sex. Some men, who were there to amuse ladies or to write reports, spent so much time in the company of women that they started to talk in the feminine."

In 1879, in Lviv, Sienkiewicz gave a lecture, "Z Nowego Jorku do Kalifornii" ("From New York to California"). In 1880, at the Bazar Hotel in Poznań, he read his novel, Za chlebem (For Bread), and later in Warsaw two papers on naturalism in literature. In Szczawnica, on his way back to Lviv in 1879, he read a paper about his stay in America. This was also where he first saw his future wife, Maria Szetkiewicz (1854–1885). When he discovered that the whole Szetkiewicz family was going to Venice, Sienkiewicz went there too and met Maria. They married on 18 August 1881, at Theatre Square in a church of the Community of Canonesses (the church no longer exists). They had two children, Henryk Józef (1882–1959) and Jadwiga Maria (1883–1969). The marriage did not last long, however, because Maria died on 18 August 1885. In 1882 he worked with Słowo (The Word, a daily newspaper with a conservative and szlachta tendency). Initially he was the editor-in-chief. He also wrote a play, Na jedną kartę (A Single Page), which was later staged at Lviv and Warsaw (1879–81).
In 1880 Sienkiewicz wrote a historical novella, Niewola tatarska (Tartar Captivity), and began work on another historical novel, Ogniem i Mieczem (With Fire and Sword). In a letter of February 1, 1884, to Stanisław Smolka, editor of the Kraków newspaper Czas, Sienkiewicz wrote: "With regard to the great novel, it will probably be titled Wilcze gniazdo (The Wolf's Nest). It takes place during the reign of King Jan Kazimierz, during the Cossack revolt." The novel Wilcze gniazdo appeared in installments in Słowo from May 2, 1883, to March 1, 1884, under the title Ogniem i mieczem (With Fire and Sword). It also ran simultaneously in the Kraków newspaper, Czas. In With Fire and Sword, he portrayed German mercenaries in a positive manner, in contrast to the Teutonic Knights.
With Fire and Sword was enthusiastically received by readers (as were the next two volumes of the Trilogy) and won national recognition for the author. Many readers wrote to Sienkiewicz, asking about the next adventures of their favorite characters. In 1879 a street in Zbarazh (one of the settings in With Fire and Sword) was named after Sienkiewicz; in 1900 its citizens would not permit building works on the church grounds, believing that it was the place where Pan Podbipięta (a fictional character in With Fire and Sword) was buried.
The novel was also adapted for the stage. In 1884 Jacek Malczewski exhibited tableaux vivants inspired by With Fire and Sword. The novel also garnered some criticism. It was pointed out, not without reason, that some of the historical facts and events were misrepresented and distorted.
He began writing the second volume of his Trilogy – Potop ("The Deluge"); according to Sienkiewicz the title was supposed to indicate the deluge of masses of people trying to stop the Swedish invasion.[citation needed] Potop was printed in Słowo (from 23 December 1884 to 2 September 1886). The novel quickly became a best-seller and it established Sienkiewicz's position in society. While Sienkiewicz was writing Potop, his wife, Maria Szetkiewicz, died of tuberculosis so it was a difficult time for the writer. After Maria's death, Sienkiewicz went to Constantinople (through Bucharest and Varna) from where he was writing reports. After his return to Warsaw the third volume of the Trilogy, Pan Wołodyjowski (Fire in the Steppe) appeared. The novel was published in Słowo from May 1887 to May 1888.
The Trilogy made Henryk Sienkiewicz the most widely read and known Polish novelist. Stefan Żeromski wrote in his Diaries: "In the Sandomierz area I witnessed myself that everybody, even those who usually do not read, were asking about The Deluge." Sienkiewicz was given 15 thousand rubles in recognition of his achievements from an unknown admirer who signed himself as Michał Wołodyjowski (the name of the character in the Trilogy). Sienkiewicz used this money to open the scholarship fund (named after his wife) designed for artists endangered by tuberculosis.

- الفقر والتنقل تبدو ابرز العوامل التي طبعت طفولته. وموت زوجته في وقت لاحق.

مأزوم .