Anton Nikolov Donchev ( bg, Антон Николов Дончев, 14 September 1930 – 20 October 2022) was a Bulgarian writer of historical novels and screenwriter of Bulgarian historical drama films. In 2003 he was elected an academic at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. He is well known in the country and abroad with his novel '' Time of Parting''.

Biography

Donchev graduated from

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

High School in 1948 and graduated "Law" at the

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

in 1953. He was denied the prestigious post of Veliko Tarnovo Judge, and started writing as a profession.

Political activity

Donchev was a co-founder of the "Consolidation" Committee consisting of up to 10 November 1989, and now to Bulgarian Socialist Party and former Bulgarian President

Georgi Parvanov Georgi Sedefchov Parvanov ( bg, Георги Седефчов Първанов, ) (born 28 June 1957) is a Bulgarian historian and politician who was President of Bulgaria from 2002 to 2012. He was elected after defeating incumbent Petar Sto ...

, writers, publishers and sports actors.

Personal life and death

Donchev's first wife is the Bulgarian

chessmaster ''Chessmaster'' is a chess-playing computer game series, which is owned and developed by Ubisoft. It is the best-selling chess franchise in history, with more than five million units sold . Timeline *1986: '' The Chessmaster 2000''. First publ ...

Evelina Troyanska. On his 79th birthday, Donchev married the 64-year-old Rayna Vasileva, a former journalist from the

Bulgarian National Radio Bulgarian National Radio ( bg, Българско национално радио, ''Bulgarsko natsionalno radio''; abbreviated to БНР, BNR) is Bulgaria's national radio broadcasting organisation. It operates two national and nine regional cha ...

. Donchev died on 20 October 2022, at the age of 92.

Bibliography

His first independent novel, ''Samuel's Testimony'', was published in 1961. His second book, '' Time of Parting'', which dealt with Islamization in the Bulgarian region of Rhodopes in the 17th century. Written over a period of 41 days in 1964, the novel made the writer famous. The novel was translated and published abroad. He received a nomination from the Jane and Irving Stone Foundation for Best Historical Novel. The novel was adapted (the movie ''

Time of Violence ''Time of Violence'' ( bg, Време на насилие, italic=yes) is a 1988 Bulgarian film based on the novel '' Time of Parting'' by Anton Donchev. It consists of two episodes with a combined length of 288 minutes. It premiered at the 1988 C ...

'' is divided into two parts with the subtitles "The Threat" and "The Violence") in 1987 by the director Lyudmil Staykov. In June 2015, ''

'' was chosen as the most beloved film of Bulgarian viewers in "Laced Shoes of Bulgarian Cinema", a large-scale consultation with the audience of

Bulgarian National Television The Bulgarian National Television ( Bulgarian: Българска национална телевизия, ''Balgarska natsionalna televizia'') or BNT (БНТ), stylized as ·Б·Н·Т· since 2018, is a public television broadcaster of Bulgari ...

Bibliography

* ''Samuel's Testimony'', 1961 * '' Time of Parting'', 1964 (33 translations in foreign languages as of 2008, screened in 1987) * ''Nine Persons of Man'', 1989 * ''A Testimony for

Khan Asparuh Asparuh (also ''Ispor''; bg, Аспарух, Asparuh or (rarely) bg, Исперих, Isperih) was а ruler of Bulgars in the second half of the 7th century and is credited with the establishment of the First Bulgarian Empire in 681. Early life ...

, Knyaz Slav and Teres'' 1968 - 1992 * ''The Strange Knight of the Sacred Book'', 1998 * ''The Three Lifes of

Krakra Krakra of Pernik ( bg, Кракра Пернишки, ''Krakra Pernishki''), also known as Krakra Voevoda or simply Krakra, was an 11th-century feudal lord in the First Bulgarian Empire whose domain encompassed 36 fortresses in what is today sou ...

'', 2007 * ''The Legends of the Two Treasures'', 2015 * ''The Shadow of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

'', 2016 Panko Anchev
"Power as a Creator of History"
in the newspaper Duma, issue no. 36, 13 February 2016

Films

* ''

'' (1988) * "The Millions of Privalov" (1983) * "Return from Rome" (1977) * "On the Other Side of the Mirror" (1977) * "Burn to Light" (1976) * "The Packet" (1972) * "

Kaloyan Kaloyan or Kalojan, also known as Ioannitsa or Johannitsa ( bg, Калоян, Йоаница; 1170 – October 1207), was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1196 to 1207. He was the younger brother of Theodor and Asen, who led the anti-Byzant ...

" (1963)

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donchev, Anton 1930 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Bulgarian novelists 21st-century Bulgarian novelists Bulgarian historical fiction writers Writers from Burgas Bulgarian male writers Male novelists 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers Bulgarian screenwriters Male screenwriters 20th-century screenwriters Sofia University alumni