The Central European Classics Series started when Timothy Garton Ash, general editor of the series, began to note down titles recommended to him by local writers in dim cafes in Budapest and Prague, in the heyday of political transition in East-Central Europe in 1989-1990. Garton Ash's aim, to take these works of nineteenth-and early twentieth century classic fiction 'out of the ghetto', onto the shelves of Western booksellers, and into the consciousness of Western readers has been successfully achieved. The series got completed in 2002, reissued with new covers in 2003.

Jaroslaw Iwaszkiewicz (1894-1980) was a significant Polish novelist and poet. Besides his literary work, he fulfilled various social roles during his long life. He studied law in Kiev, worked as a civil servant at the newly created Polish parliament (Sejm) after WW1, served at embassies in Copenhagen and Brussels, joined anti-nazi resistance during WW2, became member of parliament after the war, was president of the writers' union, received Lenin Prize for peace movement acitivities etc. His books are considered classics and even today they still sell well in Poland; some have been adapted...