The new historical novel \”The Bagpiper\” by diplomat Svetlozar Panov was presented in Gabrovo : Konkurent.bg

24/04/2024 09:10

The new historical novel “The Bagpiper” (publishing house “Freestyle Publishing”, 2024) by the diplomat Svetlozar Panov, former ambassador of Bulgaria to Australia and New Zealand, was presented this evening at the National Aprilivska Gymnasium in Gabrovo. The event was on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day, celebrated by UNESCO since 1995.

“This is a human narrative, it doesn’t heroize, it doesn’t turn the Bulgarian into a great one, but it doesn’t make him an unworthy European,” Panov pointed out at the presentation. The main characters in the novel are two young Bulgarians who lived in the middle of the 19th century – Hristo and Maria from the village of Toplesh in Gabrovo. Their peaceful life is struck by evil after a Turkish troop kidnaps Maria.

“The reading is not a traditional historical novel, but a modern historical fiction,” commented the publisher Petar Kolev and added that the characters seem contemporary, even though they lived 200 years ago. Their destinies are intertwined with real personalities like Vasil Aprilov and with events of key importance for Europe and the whole world.

The novel aims to raise questions related to what we were like two centuries ago, what our ancestors dreamed of, the author notes, pointing out that the writing also touches on the topic of education.

Svetlozar Panov is a long-time career diplomat. He was ambassador, consul general and diplomat in Bulgarian embassies on several continents. He is also the author of the novels “The Queen” and “The Queen and the Devil.