Tag Archives: Ogulin

The Brave Adventures of Hlapich the Apprentice

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My new translation of Čudnovate zgode šegrta Hlapića by Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić is now available as a paperback on Amazon sites worldwide.

Brave Adventures of Hlapich the Apprentice - English translation

The original book was published in 1913. It was Ivana’s first novel and is considered as the first ever children’s novel in Croatian.

cover of the 1913 edition

You can view this very first edition online here

However, I did not use this first edition, or any other past published edition, as the basis for my translation. I investigated the history of this beloved children’s story that is still read in schools today in Croatia. Since I had translated Ivana’s most famous work Priče iz davnine (Croatian Tales of Long Ago) in 2024, I realised that editors and publishers in the past made changes, sometimes quite radical, to authors’ original manuscripts. And so this was also the case with Hlapić. I discovered that Ivana’s first manuscript was changed and that every subsequent edition was slightly different. I found all this information using the comprehensive book ‘Romani‘ by Vinko Brešić, Berislav Majhut and Sanja Lovrić Kralj. In this edition they analysed every major edition of Hlapić and documented all the changes made over the decades. This was the basis for my translation.

My new translation is available as a paperback book on Amazon worldwide.

Ivana’s tale of the brave shoemaker’s apprentice has been translated dozens of times into many languages ranging from German to Persian, from Esperanto to Chinese and yet only once before into English and that was way back in 1971. That edition is no longer in print and is difficult to find. Therefore I chose to produce an all-new version for the English-speaking public so that it can be enjoyed worldwide.

The story of Hlapić has been the inspiration for dozens, if not hundreds, of theatre productions, school shows, cartoons, comics, as well as films, the best of which is undoubtedly the 2013 movie adaptation by director Silvije Petranović…

For my edition I made a short youtube clip using the illustrations created for my book…

The Brave Adventures of Hlapich the Apprentice is available as a paperback on Amazon worldwide (ISBN: 979-8250727853). Here are a couple direct links:

https://amzn.eu/d/02U1JMs7

https://a.co/d/0in7YXY9

https://amzn.eu/d/01s6Vuu3

“So, sit down nicely on the doorstep and read on!”

Ogulin Tourist Board – visitor’s guide

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The latest visitor’s guide to the town of Ogulin and its surroundings features everything you need for a trip to the Homeland of Fairy Tales. This handy new bilingual brochure (40 pages) is packed with what to see and do and where to stay and eat in the birth place of Croatia’s best loved children’s writer Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić. All four seasons are covered in texts written by Sabina Gvozdić and translated by myself.

This essential guide was published by the Ogulin Tourist Board

Ivana Brlić-Mažuranić’s House of Fairy Tales

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Ivana_brlic_mazuranicIvana Brlić-Mažuranić is probably Croatia’s most famous children’s story writer. Her works have been compared to those of J.R.R Tolkien and Hans Christian Andersen. She was born in Ogulin in 1874 into a very well to do Croatian family. Her inspiration for writing fairy tales was the countryside around Ogulin and in particular the mountain of Klek. She was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize for Literature and her most famous work is a collection of stories published as ‘Croatian Tales of Long Ago’ based on ancient Slavic mythology. One of her most popular stories is ‘The Brave Adventures of Hlapić the Apprentice’ which along with the tales collection has been translated into many languages and enjoyed by children all around the world.

ivana logoIn honour of Ivana’s contribution to literature the town of Ogulin has been regularly holding a Festival of Fairy Tales and in late 2013 the Ogulin Tourist Board opened an interactive, multimedia visitor’s centre ‘Ivana’s House of Fairy Tales‘ to celebrate the life and work of Croatia’s greatest children’s writer.
I was very honoured to have been involved in the project as an English language proofreader for all parts of the centre, the interactive games and exhibitions featured inside as well as all the promotional material, brochures, books and DVD accompanying the project. It was a pleasure working with the translator Nada Kujundžić and the project management team at Muze d.o.o.
Ogulin promotional material

The visitor’s centre offers an array of exhibitions, workshops, state-of-the-art interactive games, touch-screen, multimedia installations all in order to stimulate children’s imaginations about fairy tales, myths, legends and tales as well as a memorial to Ivana’s life and her works.

** NEWS **

The Croatian Museum Association (HRMUD) awarded the visitor’s centre in Ogulin as the Best Permanent Museum Exhibition in Croatia of 2014 in Opatija on 10th October.

*****

The town of Ogulin has also created a Fairy Tale Route which winds through the town and its environs. The video below sums up superbly the whole atmosphere of the project. All-in-all it has turned the town into the Homeland of Fairy Tales, well worth a visit!

In October 2024 my all-new translation of all eight fairy tales was published by Znanje in Zagreb. More info here

Ivana’s work is so popular that she even features in school yard graffiti – this is at the Podmurvice primary school in Rijeka 🙂
OŠ PodmurviceIvana's tale of Hlapić (ENG Laptich) the schoolmaker's apprentice features is popular amongst children and features in many children playgrounds. Here in Turnić near Rijeka.

Ivana’s tale of Hlapić (ENG Laptich) the schoolmaker’s apprentice features is popular amongst children and features in many children playgrounds. Here in Turnić near Rijeka.

halpic4hlapic2

 

If you would like to visit Ogulin and Ivana’s House of Fairy Tales, the Fairy Tale Route or Plitivce Lakes you can contact Sabina Gvozdić at ogulintales.com.
She is a very experienced storyteller and tourist guide who knows all about the region as well as the imposing mountain of Klek.