Baltaragis's Mill
#7643.66 adjusted 3.74 for sample size in the official ranking · full ranking
Books 1 book Status Complete 1945 Reading commitment Low Kazys Boruta Last reviewed 2026-09-05
Overview
A Lithuanian folklore-based fantasy novel by Kazys Boruta, first published in 1945. The miller Baltaragis bargains with Pincukas, a devil disguised as a swamp-dwelling neighbor, accepting his help to win a wife, Marcele, in exchange for something he will possess only after the marriage; when the devil later comes to collect the couple's daughter, Jurga, as payment, Baltaragis tries to substitute a servant girl instead, with tragic consequences for nearly everyone involved once the deception is discovered. Translated into several languages, the novel was adapted into a 1973 rhythm-opera by composer Vyacheslav Ganelin, a hugely popular 1974 Soviet musical film, and ballets staged in 1979 and 2011 by choreographer Vytautas Brazdylis at Lithuania's State Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Mythic fantasy · For Adult
Core Canon: Reading Order (1 work) counts toward ranking
Baltaragis's Mill Kazys Boruta
| Work | Year | Internal chron. | Canon | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Baltaragis's Mill; A Lithuanian folklore-based fantasy novel, translated into several languages and adapted into an opera, a musical film, and a ballet. No confirmed English-translation publisher or edition was found this pass, so no English-edition ISBN is recorded. | 1945 | 1 | core | 3.66 (2,723 ratings) |
A single standalone novel.
Quick answers
- How many books are in Baltaragis's Mill? Baltaragis's Mill's Core Canon is 1 book.
- Is Baltaragis's Mill finished? Complete (1945).
- How much reading does Baltaragis's Mill take? Low reading commitment (estimated from 1 Core Canon book · ~256 pages).
- How is Baltaragis's Mill ranked? #764 in this site's official ranking, based on 2,723 reader ratings across 1 Core Canon book. See the full ranking for how this is calculated.
Why is it ranked #764?
Ranked #764 in the official ranking.
- Average reader rating of 3.66 across 1 core book.
- A smaller readership (2,723 ratings), so the score carries less weight of numbers.
- 0.04 behind #763, The Worm Ouroboros.
- Below the top-10 average of 4.45.
- A single standalone novel: ranked on that one book alone.
Why explore this universe?
Modestly rated · 1 book · Complete · 3k ratings · Ranks #764 overall
Good choice if you want a quick, low-commitment mythic fantasy universe that's already finished, so there's no wait for the next book.
Reading order
A single Core Canon work: no sequencing question to resolve.
Awards (verified)
- No award recognition was found for this novel.
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Official resources
Research details
Ranking metrics: weighted average 3.66 across 2,723 ratings on 1 Core Canon book. See Why is it ranked here? above for the full breakdown, or the full ranking.
How do we know this?
Admission: Admit Baltaragis's Mill (Kazys Boruta) accepted 2026-09-05
Sources: (see source tier definitions)
- Wikipedia — Baltaragis's Mill Tier 2
- Wikipedia — Kazys Boruta Tier 2
Last reviewed: 2026-09-05
Rule: A single standalone novel; registered as one Core Canon entry, originally published in Lithuanian.