Narrative literature in Lithuanian or on Lithuanian themes began among intellectuals and activists. An initial network of these was the , concerned primarily with the revival of the variant of that region, and linking (university and seminary) and . Among major contributors was Stanislas (1789–1831), famous mostly for the historical poem (1823; published in 1828, 1846), which was based on a 16th-century chronicle mentioning the as a pagan maiden from Samogitia who gave birth to the Grand Duke . From the same network, Simonas (1799–1848) published the collection (1829), containing, besides fables by the 18th-century pastor-poet Donelaitis, original work: six fables including <em>Arklys ir meška</em> (on a horse and a bear, the symbols of Lithuania and Samogitia) and the patriotic ode (extolling the Grand-Ducal past and calling for the revival of the Samogitian tongue and Lithuanian fellow-feeling). No less importantly, Simonas (1793–1864), a correspondent of the historian and antiquarian Teodor , wrote historical narratives on Lithuanians and Samogitians, such as (1822); other works were published posthumously: (1 vol., 1893; 2 vols, as “History of Lithuania”, 1897), (1845), and (1893). The Samogitian nobleman Dionyzas (c.1765–1830) wrote about the life of the peasantry, and against serfdom, in his famous story <em>Mužikas Žemaičių ir Lietuvos</em> (1821-25; published, with changes, in 1886). The Samogitian movement glorified Samogitia and its virtuous peasantry, linked it to Lithuania, and set it against the Teutonic Order; attitudes to Poland and Russia were not markedly negative.
A subsequent network spanned Catholic seminaries in and and the theological academy in (which in 1842 was transferred to ). Their writings over the decades moved from didactic-religious towards political-religious themes. Among its members, Antanas (1805–1899), also considered as “the first Lithuanian writer”, published religious books (<em>,</em> 1848; translated from Polish; , 1853) and the collection of fables (1851). Edifying tales were published by Petras (1820–1868; his <em>Aplankymas Seniuko</em>, 1853, focused on a travelling peasant, anti-alcoholism, and religion) and J.S. (1826–1883; his popular 4-volume <em></em>, 1860-64, similarly thematized a travelling old man and anti-alcoholism). The stories by Kazimieras (known as Dėdė Antanazas; 1866–1933) were anti-Russian in tone and expressed a Catholic idea of Lithuanian nationality (, 1898). Some of these first appeared in periodicals; collections include (1905), (1908), and (1910). Special mention should be made of the outstanding figure of Motiejus (1801–1875), active also as a (, 1848) and a religious publicist and hagiographer (, 1858). Valančius opposed Catholic Poles, Samogitians, and Lithuanians to “Muscovites” in terms of religion, language, and lifestyle (<em>Apie sielvartus Bažnyčios šventos</em>, 1868), and wrote on their plight under Russian rule (<em>Perspėjimas apie tikėjimą šventą apie Jėzaus Kristaus Bažnyčią</em>, 1869). In the collection of stories (1872, published in 1891), Valančius thematized Lithuanian regions and customs and the war against the Teutonic Order, and generally showed himself xenophobic vis-à-vis Roma, Hungarians, and Jews.
After the 1831 and 1863 risings, some of the Polish-speaking intellectuals moved to France (Paris). Among them was Jonas (1800–1871; Polish name-form: Jan Gasztowt), whose (Polish-language, anti-Russian) appeared in in 1839. It focused on the 1831 rising, condemned Muscovites for abusing peasants, and differentiated Samogitian and Lithuanian, as the “Latai” languages, from Polish. Mikalojus (1829–1887), co-founder of the Lithuanian émigré organization <em>Želmuo</em> (), had in 1860 published a story on a poor monk wandering through Lithuania, <em>Kvestorius po Lietuvą važinėdamas, žmones bemokinąs</em> (Vilnius). Another active member in the <em>Želmuo</em> association was J. (mid-19th century – c. 1917). He was one of the first writers to create a Lithuanian historical drama, <em>Kova po Griunwaldu</em> (1892), celebrating the victory of Grand Duke Jogaila over the Teutonic Order and the union between Poland and Lithuania.
At the end of the 19th century, Lithuanian narrative literature was produced mainly in two intellectual networks, one, centred in Russia, stretching mainly from the and the gymnasiums to , the other centred around (Latvia; Mintauja in the Lithuanian name-form).
In the Marijampolė network, the main contributors were Vincas (1850–1902), Antanas (1864–1933), Antanas (1864–1903), and Stasys (1866–1956). Overall, Pietaris wrote approximately twenty stories, among them <em>Keidošių Onutė</em> (1899, contrasting conservative Poles and modern Lithuanians); <em>Kelionės</em> (1902-03, a travel story juxtaposing the Lithuanian and Polish national characters); <em></em> (1900-02, publ. 1904-05; a historical novel thematizing the 13th-century conflict between Slavs and a golden-age, idyllic and egalitarian Lithuania); and (1906, a historical drama on the Battle of Grunwald stressing the affinity between Lithuanians and Prussians and their hostility towards Poles, <em>Gudai </em>– or Slavs –, and Jews). Antanas Krikščiukaitis (, 1892; <em>Satyros trupiniai</em>, 1928) targeted civil servants and uneducated peasants equally in his social criticism. Satires were written by Vilkutaitis-Keturakis (, 1895, a comedy ridiculing emigrants to the United States; the authorship is putative) and Matulaitis, whose stories (, 1897; , 1900) targeted stealing priests and Russian-Orthodox proselytizers. This cohort of authors differentiated Lithuanians from Poles and other Slavs.
An important intellectual offshoot from the Marijampolė gymnasium to was led by Vincas (1858–1899), the key person associated with the Lithuanian newspaper . His satirical works (, 1895; <em>,</em> 1896; , 1897; <em>,</em> 1898) portrayed Lithuanians as abused, mostly in terms of religion and language, by foreigners: <em>maskoliai</em> (“Muscovites”, i.e. Russians), Jews, Poles. Also active in Warsaw was Jonas (1860–1911), co-founder of the <em>Lietuva</em> association. In tales such as <em>Pašauktieji</em> (1890) and <em>Antanas Valys</em> (1889), he thematized peasants becoming intellectuals and the history of Lithuanian-Polish relations.
Women writers were prominent in the Jelgava/Mitau network; their work tended to thematize the position of women and non-elite intellectuals, as well as a Polish-Lithuanian contrast. Liudvika (pen name: Žmona; 1856–1925), one of the major contributors and the first female writer to publish literary texts in Lithuanian, contrasted Lithuanian patriotic intellectuals to the Polish-speaking nobility, and denounced marriages between Lithuanian men and Russian or German women (<em>Tėvynės sūnus</em>, 1892). Her (c.1895, publ. 1904) depicts a woman romantically choosing a peasant over a nobleman; and the comedy (c.1899, publ. 1912) denounces Polish-speaking noblewomen donning . Another significant figure, the prolific Julija (pen name: Žemaitė; 1845–1921), left behind more than 300 literary works; her short stories were collected in the three volumes (1899-1901); her comedies include <em>Pragerti balkonai</em> (1897), <em>Trys mylimos</em> (1898), and (1900). Her stories were critical of marriage, priests, peasants, the Russo-Japanese War, and revolution; patriotic intellectuals and women’s rights were given positive treatment. Her occasional collaborator Gabrielė (pen name: Bitė; 1861–1943) published a collection of stories, (1905), which she called “photographic” exposures of injustice, poverty, and the burden of child-rearing; more nationalistic are stories such as <em>Vaišnorienė</em>, <em>Piešinys</em>, and . The drama (1905), produced jointly by Žemaitė and Bitė under the pen name “Dvi moterys”, addressed the theme of national consciousness, and celebrated anti-Polish and anti-tsarist sentiments.
Around 1900, literature written in East Prussia brought together work from the territory of Lithuania Minor (East Prussia) and Lithuania Major (under Russian rule). Until then, translations from German had dominated in East Prussia, done mostly by students at the Lithuanian language seminar at the University of , e.g. <em>Žiemos vakaro gadynėlė</em> (1885), freely translated from German by M. (1858–1946), who also compiled literature collections from unsold calendars, e.g. <em>Kelios pasakos dėl naudingo pasiskaitymo</em> (1889). A. , the first author of original Lithuanian prose in East Prussia, published <em>Namelis</em> and <em>Vėtra vilioja</em> (both 1901), the latter portraying <em>skalviai</em> and Lithuanians from Lithuania Major celebrating victory against the Teutonic Order. The philosopher and cultural critic W. (“Vydūnas”, 1868–1953) also published a few stories, including <em>Senutė</em> (1904), in which he envisioned the history of Lithuania as common destiny of Lithuania Minor and Lithuania Major. The major historical narratives were published in the almanac <em></em> (1902) by A. Bruožis (1876–1928) and M. Raišukytė (1874–1933).
The work of Aleksandras (1822–1900) deserves to be separately noted. He worked for a court in , in Russian-ruled Lithuania, had contacts with East-Prussian intellectuals such as Jankus and with the Samogitian movement (sharing a house at one point with Stanevičius). Fromas-Gužutis was one of the first writers to create Lithuanian historical drama and one of the most prolific contributors to the Lithuanian prose and drama published (since 1884) in the Lithuanian press (printed in East Prussia and the US). His major stories were (1893), <em>Patėviai</em> (1895), and <em>Mūsų praeities ir dabarties paslaptys</em> (1894). Fromas-Gužutis created more than ten, mostly historical, dramas, invariably Romantic in setting (castles, forests, moonlight) and referring to the likes of and . In <em> m.</em> (1893), he portrayed soldiers commanded by the the son of Grand Duke Kęstutis defending a castle against enemies from all over Europe. In <em>Gedimino sapnas</em> (1910), set in medieval times, Fromas-Gužutis described how Christianity served to bring under-developed Lithuania to the level of other nations.
Lithuanian themes and settings were also addressed by writers in : famously, ’s , as well as other texts and authors thematizing the history and society of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, e.g. Juliusz and Józef Ignacy . Kraszewski’s <em></em> was in fact appropriated, in , by the generation as a national epic. Baltic-German authors drawing on Lithuanian themes and settings include Eduard von , Hermann (, 1916), and Ernst (, 1924).
