George Mihail Vlădescu (2 March 1885 – 29 March 1952) was a

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

n prose writer.

Early life, education and non-literary career

Born in

Cotești Cotești is a commune located in Vrancea County, Muntenia, Romania. It is composed of four villages: Budești, Cotești, Goleștii de Sus, and Valea Cotești. Natives * G. M. Vlădescu (1885 – 1952), prose writer * (1905 – 1989), geographe ...

Vrancea County Vrancea () is a county (județ) in Romania, with its seat at Focșani. It is mostly in the historical region of Moldavia but the southern part, below the Milcov (Siret), Milcov River, is in Muntenia. Demographics At the 2021 Romanian census, 2 ...

, his parents were Mihai Vlădescu, a clerk, and his wife, Elena (''née'' Fleva). He had a high-school education, and worked as a clerk, an army officer and a farmer.

Literary career

Vlădescu's first published work appeared in '' Sentinela'' in 1903; his first book was the 1915 short-story collection ''Lacrimi adevărate''. Publications in which his output appeared include '' Convorbiri critice'', ''

Ramuri ''Ramuri'' ("Twigs" or "Branches") is a Romanian literary magazine put out from Craiova, the regional center of Oltenia region. Its first edition appeared from December 1905, and was closely tied to Nicolae Iorga's ''Sămănătorul'', published i ...

'', '' Năzuința'', '' Cosânzeana'' and ''

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 P ...

''. He sometimes used the pen names g.m.vl., G.M.VL., O.B., Mihail Corbea, Odo Basca, Mihail-Vlădescu and G. M. Vlădescu-Vlad. Vlădescu published translations, including of

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian literature, Russian and world literature, and many of his works are consider ...

and

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

. Vlădescu wrote several novels (''Menuetul'', 1933; ''Moartea fratelui meu'', 1934; ''Republica disperaților'', 1935; ''Gol'', 1937) and short-story collections (''Tăcere'', 1923; ''Plecarea Magdalenei'', 1936). He wrote in a flowing style marked by philosophizing metaphors, ably describing provincial life. His humanist themes are developed through a sentimental narration that alternates melodrama with satirical caricatures. ''Menuetul'' won the

Romanian Writers' Society The Romanian Writers' Society () was a professional association based in Bucharest, Romania, that aided the country's writers and promoted their interests. Founded in 1909, it operated for forty years before the early Communist Romania, communist re ...

prize in 1933; ''Moartea fratelui meu'' was awarded the Femina Prize the following year.

Death

Vlădescu died in

Dumitrești Dumitrești is a commune located in Vrancea County, Romania. It is composed of sixteen villages: Biceștii de Jos, Biceștii de Sus, Blidari, Dumitrești, Dumitreștii de Sus, Dumitreștii-Faţă, Găloiești, Lăstuni, Lupoaia, Motnău, Poieni� ...

, near his birthplace.Aurel Sasu (ed.), ''Dicționarul biografic al literaturii române'', vol. II, p. 830-31. Pitești: Editura Paralela 45, 2004.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vladescu, G. M. 1885 births 1952 deaths 20th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century Romanian male writers 20th-century Romanian novelists 20th-century Romanian short story writers 20th-century Romanian translators People from Vrancea County Romanian Land Forces officers Romanian male novelists Romanian male short story writers English–Romanian translators Russian–Romanian translators