One of Romania's foremost novelists, Liviu Rebreanu created fiction of epic proportions that dramatized the social and economic turmoil of early twentieth-century Romania, as well as the spiritual and idealistic aspirations of all of humanity. Critical of political corruption and the mistreatment of the peasantry, Rebreanu advocated adherence to Christian principles as the means to inner peace and contentment.

Rebreanu was born on 27 November 1885 in the village of Tîrlisiua in northern Transylvania, which was then part of Hungary. Although his father was a teacher, both parents came from families of "free Romanians"--peasants who served as border guards and, consequently, enjoyed civil rights that were denied other Romanians in the Hapsburg Empire. Rebreanu's family often moved to other villages in the region, such as Maieru and Prislop, as the father received new teaching assignments. Rebreanu claims in his autobiography, Marturisiri (Confessions, 1932), that he had a happy...