Camil Petrescu (; 9/21 April 1894 – 14 May 1957) was a Romanian

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

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 aspire ...

philosopher A philosopher is a person who practices or investigates philosophy. The term ''philosopher'' comes from the grc, φιλόσοφος, , translit=philosophos, meaning 'lover of wisdom'. The coining of the term has been attributed to the Greek th ...

and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or w ...

. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

Life

Petrescu was born 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 o ...

in 1894. He lost both his parents early in life and was raised by a relative, or a nanny from the Moșilor suburb (the sources remain quite unclear on this). Petrescu went to primary school at

Obor Obor is the name of a square and the surrounding district of Bucharest, the capital of Romania. There is also a Bucharest Metro station (on the M1 line) named Obor, which lies in this area. The district is near the Colentina and Moșilor ...

, and to high school at

Saint Sava National College The Saint Sava National College (Romanian: ''Colegiul Național Sfântul Sava''), Bucharest, named after Sabbas the Sanctified, is the oldest and one of the most prestigious high schools in Romania. It was founded in 1694, under the name of t ...

, where he wrote his very first poem. Being very poor, he studied assiduously, worked to support himself, and relatively late—at the age of 29—he began his studies in philosophy at the

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest ( ro, Universitatea din București), commonly known after its abbreviation UB in Romania, is a public university founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princel ...

. His antisemitism is controversial, having Jewish friends such as

Mihail Sebastian Mihail Sebastian (; born Iosif Mendel Hechter; October 18, 1907 – May 29, 1945) was a Romanian playwright, essayist, journalist and novelist. Life Sebastian was born to a Jewish family in Brăila, the son of Mendel and Clara Hechter. After ...

. In 1916, Petrescu was drafted and sent to the battlefields of then raging

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, where he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Austro-Hungarians. Freed in 1918, he depicted his war experiences in his 1930 novel ' ("Last Night of Love, First Night of War"). In 1933, Petrescu wrote the novel ' ("The Bed of Procrustes"). He was a teacher in

Timișoara ), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor) , image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg , map_caption = Location in Timiș County , pushpin_map = Romania#Europe , pushpin_ ...

, and director of the

National Theater Bucharest The National Theatre Bucharest ( ro, Teatrul Naţional "Ion Luca Caragiale" București) is one of the national theatres of Romania, located in the capital city of Bucharest. Founding It was founded as the ''Teatrul cel Mare din București'' ("Gr ...

. He was elected titular member of the Romanian Academy in 1948. He died in 1957 in Bucharest, and was buried at 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. Th ...

Works

*''Ultima noapte de dragoste, întâia noapte de război'' ("Last Night of Love, First Night of War"), 1930 *''Patul lui Procust'' ("The Bed of Procrustes"), 1933, of which we now have Ileana Orlich's translation of 2008, published by the Camil Petrescu Cultural Foundation in Bucharest) *''Doctrina substanței'' ("The Doctrine of Substance"), 1940

Filmography

* ''Patul lui Procust'' (2001) – ''Bed of Procust'', or ''Procust's Bed'' (International English title; the original Romanian title refers to the mythical

Procrustes In Greek mythology, Procrustes (; Greek: Προκρούστης ''Prokroustes'', "the stretcher ho hammers out the metal), also known as Prokoptas, Damastes (Δαμαστής, "subduer") or Polypemon, was a rogue smith and bandit from Attica ...

) * ''Cei care plătesc cu viața'' (1991) aka ''

Those Who Pay With Their Lives ''Those Who Pay With Their Lives'' ( ro, Cei care plătesc cu viaţa) is a 1989 Romanian drama film directed by Șerban Marinescu, and based on novels by Camil Petrescu. The film was selected as the Romanian entry for the Best Foreign Language ...

'' (1991) * ''Mitică Popescu'' (1984) (play) * ''Iată femeia pe care o iubesc ''(1981) (TV) (play) * ''Ultima noapte de dragoste'' (1979) (novel ''Ultima noapte de dragoste, întîia noapte de război'') - ''Last Night of Love, First Night Of War'' (1979)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrescu, Camil Romanian male novelists Romanian dramatists and playwrights Romanian theatre critics Titular members of the Romanian Academy Chairpersons of the National Theatre Bucharest Romanian military personnel of World War I World War I prisoners of war held by Austria-Hungary Romanian prisoners of war Saint Sava National College alumni University of Bucharest alumni Writers from Bucharest Burials at Bellu Cemetery 1894 births 1957 deaths Male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century Romanian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Romanian male writers 20th-century Romanian philosophers