“The Black Council” (1843–1857) is the first historical novel in Ukrainian literature—an expansive epic that vividly and multifariously depicts the events that occurred after the death of Bohdan Khmelnytsky.
The center of the novel is the Black Council in Nizhyn in the spring of 1663, when several contenders from the Cossacks fought over the hetman’s mace. This is a turning point in our history, where reflected struggle for putting an end to hostilities in Ukraine and for its unity is portrayed.