Mykhailo Starytsky (1840-1904) entered Ukrainian literature as a talented poet, novelist, playwright, and translator. For almost 40 years, he has written about 70 prose works and 30 plays, which inspired the heroic struggle of the Ukrainian people for freedom and independence in the past. M. Starytsky was also a playwright, director and organizer of theatrical troupes. This edition includes the historical novel "Bush's Defense", as well as the drama "Bogdan Khmelnytsky", one of the best plays of Ukrainian classical drama. The author, an outstanding master of acute dramatic situations and strong characters, reflected in them the struggle of the Ukrainian people against the Polish nobility, the complexity of this struggle, the clash of various interests (even in one camp). The writer ambiguously stated that he wrote "for native Ukraine". Created at a difficult time at the turn of the century, these works strengthened national consciousness, supported the belief in the inexhaustibility of national forces, in the ability of the people, the nation to be reborn for a new life. important in our time.
