A Prophet in His Fatherland. Franco and His Community (1856—1886)

Yaroslav Hrytsak (born 1960) is a doctor of historical sciences, professor at the Ukrainian Catholic University, honorary director of the Institute of Historical Research of the Lviv National University. Founder of the annual publication "Ukraine Moderna", author of over 500 scientific publications on historical topics. Laureate of the Antonowych Foundation, Jerzy Giedroyc and many others, awarded the Order "For Intellectual Courage". In 2024, the magazine NV ("New Voice") included Yaroslav Hrytsak in the list of 30 public intellectuals whose opinions Ukrainians listen to.

This book is a reprint of his work, the result of almost twenty years of research. It is a microhistory of a macroman. Using the example of the biography of the young Franko, it is shown how the Ukrainian movement was able to win in Austrian Galicia in the fight against Russophile and Polish orientations and what impact this victory had on the fate of the Ukrainian national project in general. The author talks about Franko's lineage, the mysteries of his birth, his choice of Ukrainian identity, his literary and political activities, his relationships with friends, women, peasants, Jews, Poles, and Russophiles. According to contemporaries, in the late 1870s and early 1880s, there was no person in Galicia who would have had such an influence on the youth as Ivan Franko. Even then, a future literary genius, an ideological leader of the Ukrainian nation, was visible in him.