Gospodin Franjo

Gospodin Franjo is a historical novel by Slovenian author Fran Maselj (pen name: Podlimbarski), first published in 1913. It provides an excellent depiction of the conditions in Bosnia following the Austro-Hungarian occupation. is Maselj's most extensive and renowned work. In the ideal Slovenian engineer France Vilar, who oversees logging on Konj Mountain, the author portrays himself; his protagonist is a fully developed character who no longer evolves. Through a detailed portrayal of Bosnian conditions, he highlights the evils of Austrian occupation, revealing his political and social ideas, passionate belief in Slavism, and anti-Austrian sentiment.

Due to this book, the author was convicted of treason in 1915, stripped of his officer rank, and forcibly relocated to Ober-Hollabrunn and later Pulkau, where he died in 1917. The authorities confiscated the book, dissolved the publisher, Slovenska matica, and seized its assets.

The main character is France Vilar. After completing his studies and seeking employment, he is called up as a reserve lieutenant and participates in the Austro-Hungarian occupation of Bosnia. Following the occupation, he secures a job as an engineer in Tuzla. He begins to understand the various aspects of the Bosnian population: the cultural bearers ("Kulturträger") and the locals, between whom lies an unbridgeable gap, the corruption of the authorities and their collaborators, and the misery of the Bosnian people. Key characters include: the district chief, a Viennese Jew who seduces his clerk’s wife and loses his head; the Pole Hvalibogovski, who wants to impose clay hats on "Panslavs" and Bosnians; the renegade Buzduga; the Turkish informer Atif Sarajlija; the insatiable forester Bierkof; the Jewish merchant Blaustift; the guard Gajer; and the cowardly, sycophantic Slovenian Hren, these belong to the anti-people camp. The locals are represented by: clerk Bajić with his unfaithful wife Ljubica, his coquettish sister Katica, and kind mother; the restless agitator and escaped monk Jovica Milošević and his sister Danica, who falls in love with the engineer; the boy Vasko; and the ever-hungry Bobojedec.

He seeks to help the oppressed workers, achieving partial success. Grateful people begin calling him Gospodin Franjo. However, the rift between him and the authorities deepens. He meets a young Bosnian woman and falls in love with her, and she reciprocates his feelings.

The conflict with the authorities intensifies during the Bosnian uprising of 1882. Due to his activities and a series of events, he is imprisoned and accused of treason.

Ultimately, his story ends happily as he reunites with his beloved.

• List of Slovenian novels