Jadwiga lived toward the end of the 14th century. She was made Queen of Poland at the age of 10 and died 15 years later, having decisively influenced the development of a whole region of the European continent. She was beatified in 1979 and is being considered for canonization. Eminent historian Halecki (d.1973) entrusted his "magnum opus" to Gromada, who undertook the arduous task of preparing the manuscript for publication. Annotation(c) 2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)