Alois Jirásek

Alois Jirásek (born Aug. 23, 1851, Hronov, Bohemia, Austrian Empire [now in Czech Republic]—died March 12, 1930, Prague, Czech.) was the most important Czech novelist in the period before World War I, as well as a great national figure.

Jirásek was a secondary-school teacher until his retirement in 1909. He wrote a series of historical novels imbued with faith in his nation and in progress toward freedom and justice. He was particularly attracted by the Hussite period of Bohemian history (15th century), to which he devoted his most famous work, the trilogy Mezi proudy (1891; “Between the Currents”), Proti všem (1894; “Against All the World”), and Bratrstvo (1900–09; “Brotherhood”). Perhaps of greater artistic significance is his five-volume portrayal of the 19th-century Czech national revival in F.L. Věk (1890–1907), and his best work is probably his last major novel, Temno (1915; “Darkness”), in which he painted a vivid picture of Bohemia in the grip of the Counter-Reformation. Jirásek’s novels are founded upon careful historical reading, and his rich and detailed descriptive passages contribute to his work a colour and individuality that offset the conventionality of the characterizations.

During World War I Jirásek publicly expressed the Czech desire for national independence, notably when he read out the “national oath” at a demonstration in Prague on April 13, 1918. His literary output also included plays and short stories.