Anecdotes

His wife Oktawia Trembinska was a maternal cousin of Prus. Her mother Katarzyna was one of the relatives who held custody over an underage Prus.

Boleslaw Prus suffered from agoraphobia throughout his life. He went on a tour of Europe in 1895, and had to spend two months recuperating from the shock of being surrounded by large crowds.

While Boleslaw Prus attended gymnasium (secondary school), one of his teachers was Jozef Sklodowski. Josef was the grandfather of Maria Sklodowska Curie, a famous scientist.

Boleslaw Prus was orphaned early. His mother died when he was 3-years-old, his father died when he was 9-years-old. Until reaching adulthood, Prus was placed in the custody of a series of relatives.

When 16-years-old, Boleslaw Prus took part in the January Uprising against the Russian Empire (1863-1864). He was wounded and captured in a battle against the Russians, suffering gunpowder injuries to his eyes. He was held in custody for several months, and placed on trial by a military court. The Russian authorities decided to release him with minimal punishment, because he was still underage.

In 1904, Boleslaw Prus' adopted son, Emil Trembinski, committed suicide by firearm. He was only 17-years-old. His father survived him by 8 years.

Boleslaw Prus was the uncle of Stanislaw Jackowski, a celebrated sculptor. Jackowski was commissioned to create several memorials to his deceased uncle, including the decorations on Prus' tomb.

Boleslaw Pius had the reputation of a man who was very fond of children and affectionate with them. To honor this tendency of the author, his tomb was decorated with the statue of a little girl. The statue is embracing the tomb, as if giving the author a hug.

Boleslaw Prus never completed his college studies. He attended Warsaw University, but financial difficulties caused him to drop out after two years of studies. He later attended the Agriculture and Forestry Institute, but was expelled for his outspoken political beliefs. He proceeded to educate himself through reading and translating various works on science and philosophy.

Boleslaw Prus was reportedly survived by an illegitimate son, Jan Bogusz Sacewicz (1906-1944). Jan died in a German concentration camp during World War II.

While Boleslaw Pius was writing with serious intent, most of his notable works offer a humorous and witty description of their topics. The major exception was "Children" (1908), a humorless novel about the radical youth of his era: revolutionaries, terrorists and anarchists. It was poorly received and is still considered a lesser work.

In 1912, Boleslaw Prus had started work on a new novel called "Changes". His sudden death left the novel unfinished.