| Three Chestnut Horses | |
| Author: | Margita Figuli |
| Title Orig: | Tri gaštanové kone |
| Orig Lang Code: | sk |
| Translator: | John Minahane |
| Cover Artist: | Jozef Cincík[1] |
| Country: | Slovak State |
| Language: | Slovak |
| Genre: | Romance novel, Christian novel |
| Set In: | Northern Slovakia, 1930s |
| Publisher: | Matica slovenská |
| English Pub Date: | 2014 |
| Published: | 1940 |
| Media Type: | Print: hardback |
| Pages: | 163 |
| Dewey: | 891.8735 |
| Congress: | PG5438.F47 T7513 |
| Preceded By: | Olovený vták |
| Followed By: | Tri noci a tri sny |
Three Chestnut Horses is a 1940 novel by Margita Figuli in the Slovak language.[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]
In the mountains of Slovakia, Peter has been in love with Magdalena since childhood and asks her to marry him. However, her mother promises her to a cruel, rich farmer, Jano Zapotočný. Magdalena promises Peter that she will put off marrying Jano if Peter can prove himself capable of making a living, but tragedy intervenes in their lives.[7]
In Slovakia, Three Chestnut Horses was an immediate success, running through eight editions in seven years. is considered a beloved classic.[8] In Women Writers of Great Britain and Europe: An Encyclopedia, Norma L. Rudinsky noted that "[Magdalena and Peter's] spiritual growth through tragedy to a happy ending is mythologized by three horses symbolizing the goodness, beauty and strength of nature as well as the same three qualities gained by obedience to the Christian moral code."[9]
During the period of communist Czechoslovakia, the book was published with several religious passages excised.[10]
Prof. Sarah Hinlicky Wilson awarded it five stars, saying "Three Chestnut Horses as an authentically religious book is a good antidote […] It won’t heal the wounds of living, but it will give you enough balm to carry on to the next encounter."[11]