The novel describes events in the life of the Polish Slavs in the 9th century. The plot outline for the “Old Legend” was the legend of Piast and Popel, which tells how the cruel Prince Popel, who oppressed his subjects, was eaten by mice and how the glades instead of him at the assembly elected the poor charioteer Piast as their prince.

Each work of Krashevsky, an excellent storyteller, colorful writer of everyday life and historical novelist, represents a living, highly truthful characterization, a picturesque chronicle of the time from which it was taken. As the most attentive, vigilant observer, unusually conscientious at the same time, Krashevsky followed the life of absolutely all layers of society, its urgent needs, the ideas that worried him at the moment, the direction that prevailed in it. Wonderful, luxurious pictures of nature, full of true poetry, heart-grabbing scenes with an abyss of tragedy add even more charm and fascination to Kraszewski’s novels and stories. Kraszewski laid the foundation for the Polish novel and is thus undoubtedly its re-creator. In the field of the novel, he had absolutely no rivals in Polish literature. Kraszewski wrote simply, unusually accessible, and this, regardless of his outstanding talent, gained him a huge circle of readers, both Polish and foreign.