Antal Stašek (born Antonín Zeman) (22 July 1843 – 9 October 1931) was a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...

writer and lawyer.

Life and work

Stašek was born in the village of Stanový (now part of Zlatá Olešnice) in northern

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

. From 1877, Stašek was a successful barrister in

Semily Semily (; ) is a town in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 8,000 inhabitants. Administrative division Semily consists of four municipal parts (in brackets population according to the 2021 census): *Semily (2,554) *Bítoucho ...

. His work is mainly set in the area around the

Krkonoše The Giant Mountains, Krkonoše, or Karkonosze (Czech: , , ), are a mountain range located in the north of the Czech Republic and the south-west of Poland, part of the Sudetes mountain system (part of the Bohemian Massif). The Czech–Polish bor ...

mountains that straddle the today's border between the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Stašek was heavily influenced by

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

and was perhaps the first Czech writer to work with these themes. His best known novel is ''Matusch the Shoemaker and his Friends'', published posthumously in 1932. Stašek worked briefly in

Mohelnice Mohelnice (; ) is a town in Šumperk District in the Olomouc Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 9,800 inhabitants. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech Republic)#Monument zones, urban m ...

before moving in 1913 to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, where he spent the rest of his life. The writer

Ivan Olbracht Ivan Olbracht, born Kamil Zeman (6 January 1882 – 20 December 1952), was a Czech people, Czech writer, journalist, censor and translator of German language, German prose. Biography The son of writer Antal Stašek and his Jewish-born Catholic ...

was his son.

References

1843 births 1931 deaths People from Jablonec nad Nisou District Czechoslovak National Democracy politicians Members of the Revolutionary National Assembly of Czechoslovakia Lawyers from Austria-Hungary Translators from Austria-Hungary Poets from Austria-Hungary Czech poets Czech male poets 19th-century Czech lawyers 20th-century Czech translators 20th-century Czech male writers 20th-century Czech lawyers {{CzechRepublic-writer-stub