Possessed is a 1939 novel by the Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz

Witold Gombrowicz

Witold Marian Gombrowicz was a Polish novelist and dramatist. His works are characterized by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and an absurd, anti-nationalist flavor...

, published under the pseudonym Zdisław Niewieski. It is a pastiche of gothic

Gothic fiction

Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror, is a genre or mode of literature that combines elements of both horror and romance. Gothicism's origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto, subtitled "A Gothic Story"...

 and serial novels in the vein of Horace Walpole and Eugène Sue

Eugène Sue

Joseph Marie Eugène Sue was a French novelist.He was born in Paris, the son of a distinguished surgeon in Napoleon's army, and is said to have had the Empress Joséphine for godmother. Sue himself acted as surgeon both in the Spanish campaign undertaken by France in 1823 and at the Battle of Navarino...

.

Publication

The novel was serialised in the summer 1939 in two Polish daily newspapers, under the pseudonym Zdisław Niewieski. Only the first two parts were published before the outbreak of World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. Witold Gombrowicz

Witold Gombrowicz

Witold Marian Gombrowicz was a Polish novelist and dramatist. His works are characterized by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and an absurd, anti-nationalist flavor...

never claimed authorship of the work until a few days before his death in 1969. It was first published in book form in 1973. In 1986, the three final parts of the novel were discovered. The full version was published in 1990.