Cezar Petrescu (; December 1, 1892–March 9, 1961) was a
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
n journalist,
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspi ...
, and
children's writer.
He was born in
Hodora,
Iași County
Iași County () is a county (județ) of Romania, in Western Moldavia, with the administrative seat at Iași. It is the most populous county in Romania, after the Municipality of Bucharest (which has the same administrative level as that of a coun ...
, the son of Dimitrie Petrescu, an engineer and a teacher. After attending elementary school in his native village, he pursued his studies at high schools in
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
and
Iași. From 1911 he attended the Faculty of Law at the
University of Iași
The Alexandru Ioan Cuza University (Romanian: ''Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza"''; acronym: UAIC) is a public university located in Iași, Romania. Founded by an 1860 decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza, under whom the former Academia Mih ...
, graduating in 1915.
Petrescu was inspired by the works of
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...
, attempting to write a Romanian
novel cycle that would mirror Balzac's ''
La Comédie humaine
LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States.
La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* La (musical note), or A, the sixth note
* "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...
''. He was also under the influence of the ''
Sămănătorul
''Sămănătorul'' or ''Semănătorul'' (, Romanian for "The Sower") was a literary and political magazine published in Romania between 1901 and 1910. Founded by poets Alexandru Vlahuță and George Coșbuc, it is primarily remembered as a tribun ...
'' critique of Romanian society.
As a journalist, Petrescu made himself known as one of the editors of the
magazine ''
Gândirea
''Gândirea'' ("The Thinking"), known during its early years as ''Gândirea Literară - Artistică - Socială'' ("The Literary - Artistic - Social Thinking"), was a Romanian literary, political and art magazine.
Overview
Founded by Cezar Pe ...
'', alongside
Nichifor Crainic
Nichifor Crainic (; pseudonym of Ion Dobre ; 22 December 1889, Bulbucata, Giurgiu County – 20 August 1972, Mogoșoaia) was a Romanian writer, editor, philosopher, poet and theologian famed for his traditionalist activities. Crainic was a ...
and
Lucian Blaga. For a long time, he was a member of the
National Peasants' Party
The National Peasants' Party (also known as the National Peasant Party or National Farmers' Party; ro, Partidul Național Țărănesc, or ''Partidul Național-Țărănist'', PNȚ) was an agrarian political party in the Kingdom of Romania. It w ...
, and wrote extensively for its press, especially for ''
Aurora
An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...
''.
His major work consists of novels such as ''Întunecare'' ("Darkening"; 1928), ''Calea Victoriei'' (the name of a
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
avenue; 1930), ''Dumenica orbului'' ("The Blind Man's Sunday"; 1934), and ''Noi vrem pământ'' ("We Demand Land"; 1938).
Notwithstanding his prolific output as a novelist, Petrescu is mostly remembered for his children's book ''Fram, ursul polar'' ("
Fram, the polar bear"—the circus animal character was named after ''
Fram
Fram may refer to:
Ships
* ''Fram'' (ship), an arctic exploration vessel from Norway
* MS ''Fram'', expedition cruise ship owned by Hurtigruten Group
Places and geography
* Fram, Paraguay, a town in Itapúa, Paraguay
* Fram Formation, a se ...
'', the ship used by
Fridtjof Nansen on his expeditions).
He died in
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
in 1961, and is buried in the city's
Bellu Cemetery
Șerban Vodă Cemetery (commonly known as Bellu Cemetery) is the largest and most famous cemetery in Bucharest, Romania.
It is located on a plot of land donated to the local administration by Baron Barbu Bellu. It has been in use since 1858. T ...
.
In 1967, a memorial museum was created in
Bușteni
Bușteni () is a small mountain town in the north of Prahova County, Muntenia, Romania. It is located in the Prahova Valley, at the bottom of the Bucegi Mountains, that have a maximum altitude of . Its name literally means tree-logs in Romanian. ...
, in the mansion Petrescu acquired in 1937, and lived in until 1960.
Streets are named after him in
Brăila
Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila.
According to the 2011 Romanian census there were 180,302 peo ...
, Bucharest, Bușteni,
Cluj-Napoca
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
, image_skyline=
, subdivision_type1 = County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Status
, subdivision_name2 = County seat
, settlement_type = City
, le ...
,
Dumbrăvița,
Iași,
Mangalia
Mangalia (, tr, Mankalya), ancient Callatis ( el, Κάλλατις/Καλλατίς; other historical names: Pangalia, Panglicara, Tomisovara), is a city and a port on the coast of the Black Sea in the south-east of Constanța County, Norther ...
,
Păun,
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
, and
Târgu Jiu
Târgu Jiu () is the capital of Gorj County in the Oltenia region of Romania. It is situated on the Southern Sub-Carpathians, on the banks of the river Jiu. Eight localities are administered by the city: Bârsești, Drăgoieni, Iezureni, Polat ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrescu, Cezar
Gândirea
National Peasants' Party politicians
20th-century Romanian politicians
People from Iași County
Romanian children's writers
Romanian magazine editors
Romanian magazine founders
Romanian newspaper editors
Romanian newspaper founders
Romanian male novelists
Titular members of the Romanian Academy
Burials at Bellu Cemetery
1892 births
1961 deaths
20th-century Romanian novelists
20th-century Romanian male writers
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University alumni