Three Chestnut Horses

Three Chestnut Horses is a 1940 novel by Margita Figuli in the Slovak language.

Plot

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.

Reception

In Slovakia, Three Chestnut Horses was an immediate success, running through eight editions in seven years. is considered a beloved classic. In Women Writers of Great Britain and Europe: An Encyclopedia, Norma L. Rudinsky noted that " 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."
During the period of communist Czechoslovakia, the book was published with several religious passages excised.
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."