Henryk Sienkiewicz is best known for his epic historical novels. He began writing them during the 1880s and published them as serial installments in Polish newspapers. Comprehensive historical studies formed as the basis for his great trilogy of Polish life during the mid-17th century: Ogniem i mieczem (With Fire and Sword, 1884), Potop (The Deluge, 1886) and Wołodyjowski (Fire in the Steppe, 1888).