In Times of War

By Ion Luca Caragiale

Mr. Stavrache unexpectedly becomes the owner of a fabulous, but ill-gotten fortune in this psychological thriller written by Romania's greatest playwright, Ion Luca Caragiale.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tiberian Press
• Release date: May 22, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386403364

Ion Luca Caragiale

Ion Luca Caragiale was a Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist. Leaving behind an important cultural legacy, he is considered one of the greatest playwrights in Romanian language and literature, as well as one of its most important writers and a leading representative of local humor. Alongside Mihai Eminescu, Ioan Slavici and Ion Creangă, he is seen as one of the main representatives of Junimea, an influential literary society with which he nonetheless parted during the second half of his life. His work, spanning four decades, covers the ground between Neoclassicism, Realism, and Naturalism, building on an original synthesis of foreign and local influences. Although few in number, Caragiale's plays constitute the most accomplished expression of Romanian theater, as well as being important venues for criticism of late 19th century Romanian society.

Book preview

In Times of War

a story by

I. L. Caragiale

translated from Romanian by

Alan Stroe

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Copyright © 2018 by Tiberian Press.

All Rights Reserved.

Do Not Reproduce Without Permission.

Contents

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER III

CHAPTER I

At last, the gang of robbers was caught deep in the Dobrenis’ Forest. For two years, a few rough young men, with their faces painted black, very daring and very cruel, had terrorized three boroughs. They began with horse theft; then a home invasion; then two more, with torture; then murders. Among other deeds, they had recently paid a curtesy visit to Priest Iancu of Podeni.

The Priest was a wealthy man; widowed, although still quite young, he lived with his mother. His business went as well as can be. In the course of a year and a half he had acquired two plots of land, had built an inn, and two houses built of stone; lots of cattle, sheep, five horses, and people said, a lot of money. All this could not go unnoticed; everyone believed the priest had unearthed some hidden treasure. Such a state of affairs could not escape the robbers’ attention, of course.

One evening, Iancu made the mistake of remaining at home completely alone: he sent the old woman to the fair with the carriage, accompanied by a boy; he sent a servant to the fields, and two others with the ox carts into the forest, for lumber. After midnight, the blackguard visitors showed up: they tied him up, tortured him, and took from him an awful lot of money. The old woman was lucky to have been away; perhaps she might have made the mistake of screaming, causing the robbers to kill her, as it happened with another