Marie Majerová (1 February 1882 – 16 January 1967) 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' Places *Czech, ...

writer and translator.

Biography

The daughter of working-class parents, she was born in

Úvaly Úvaly (german: Auwal) is a town in Prague-East District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 7,000 inhabitants. Geography Úvaly is located about east of the centre of Prague. It lies in the Prague Plateau on the ...

and grew up in

Kladno Kladno (; german: Kladen) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 67,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and together with its adjacent suburban areas has a population of more than 110,000. ...

. When she was sixteen, she began working as a servant in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. She went on to complete her education in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. She was a member of the

Czechoslovak Communist Party The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Cominter ...

from its inception and was also involved in the feminist movement. In 1907, she published a collection of stories ''Povídky z pekla a jiné'' (Stories from Hell and other stories) and a novel ''Panenství'' (Maidenhood). Her writing concerns itself with the oppression of the working class and of women. She also wrote literature for children. Majerová was married twice: first to the journalist Josef Stivín and then to the graphic artist Slavoboj Tusar. She died in Prague at the age of 84. The 1937 film ''

Virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

'', directed by

Otakar Vávra Otakar Vávra (28 February 1911 – 15 September 2011) was a Czech film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was born in Hradec Králové, Austria-Hungary, now part of the Czech Republic. Biography and career Vávra attended universities i ...

, was based on her novel ''Panenství''. Her novel ''Siréna'' was the basis for the screenplay for the 1947 film of the same name with English title ''

The Strike ''The Strike'' (also known as ''Strike!'', although this is more properly the title of the fictitious Hollywood movie featured in the episode) is one of the short comedy films – written by Peter Richardson and Pete Richens, and directed by Ric ...

'', directed by

Karel Steklý Karel Steklý (9 October 1903 – 5 July 1987) was a Czech film director. He is most famous for his film '' Siréna'' (1947) for which he won the Golden Lion, and ''The Good Soldier Schweik'' (1957). Filmography *'' Prosťáček'' (1945) * ...

. The 1947 film received a Golden Lion at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

. Czech-Canadian author

Josef Škvorecký Josef Škvorecký (; September 27, 1924 – January 3, 2012) was a Czech-Canadian writer and publisher. He spent half of his life in Canada, publishing and supporting banned Czech literature during the communist era. Škvorecký was awarded the ...

has said that his character Marie Burdychova in ''The Miracle Game'' was physically based on Marie Majerová.

Selected works

* ''Náměstí republiky'' (Republic square). novel (1914) * ''Nejkrásnější svět'' (The most beautiful of worlds), novel (1920) * ''Mučenky'' (Passionflowers), short stories (1924) * ''Přehrada'' (The Farmer), novel (1932) * ''Siréna'' (The Siren), novel (1935) * ''Havířská balada'' (Ballad of a miner) (1938) * ''Spisy'', collected works in 19 volumes (1962)

References

External links

* 1882 births 1967 deaths People from Úvaly People from the Kingdom of Bohemia Czech Social Democratic Party politicians Communist Party of Czechoslovakia politicians Czech communists Czech feminists Czech novelists Czech women novelists Czech women short story writers Czech short story writers Communist writers Socialist feminists 20th-century novelists 20th-century women writers 20th-century short story writers Burials at Olšany Cemetery {{CzechRepublic-writer-stub