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Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer, playwright, critic and journalist. He has become best known for his
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
, including his novel '' War with the Newts'' (1936) and play '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal Robots'', 1920), which introduced the word ''
robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...
''.Oxford English Dictionary: robot n2 He also wrote many politically charged works dealing with the social turmoil of his time. Influenced by American pragmatic liberalism, he campaigned in favor of free expression and strongly opposed the rise of both
fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
and
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
in Europe. Though nominated for the
Nobel Prize in Literature The Nobel Prize in Literature, here meaning ''for'' Literature (), is a Swedish literature prize that is awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, "in ...
seven times, Čapek never received it. However, several awards commemorate his name, such as the Karel Čapek Prize, awarded every other year by the Czech PEN Club for literary work that contributes to reinforcing or maintaining democratic and humanist values in society. He also played a key role in establishing the Czechoslovak PEN Club as a part of International PEN.Derek Sayer, ''The Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History''. Princeton University Press, 2000 , (pp. 22–23). Čapek died on the brink of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
as the result of a lifelong medical condition. His legacy as a literary figure became well established after the war.


Life


Early life and education

Karel Čapek was born in 1890 in the village of Malé Svatoňovice in the
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
n mountains. However, six months after his birth, the Čapek family moved to their own house in Úpice. Karel Čapek's father, Antonín Čapek, worked as a doctor at the local textile factory. Antonín was a very active person; apart from his work as a doctor, he also co-funded the local museum and was a member of the town council. Despite opposing his father's
materialist Materialism is a form of philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materia ...
and positivist views, Karel Čapek loved and admired his father, later calling him "a good example... of the generation of national awakeners". Karel's mother, Božena Čapková, was a homemaker. Unlike her husband, she did not like life in the country, and she suffered from long-term depression. Despite that, she assiduously collected and recorded local folklore, such as legends, songs and stories. Karel was the youngest of three siblings. He would maintain an especially close relationship with his brother Josef, a highly successful painter, living and working with him throughout his adult life. His sister, Helena, was a talented pianist who later become a writer and published several memoirs about Karel and Josef. After finishing elementary school in Úpice, Karel moved with his grandmother to
Hradec Králové Hradec Králové (; ) is a city of the Czech Republic. It has about 94,000 inhabitants. It is the capital of the Hradec Králové Region. The historic centre of Hradec Králové is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument (Czech R ...
, where he started attending high school. Two years later the school expelled him for taking part in an illegal students' club. Čapek later described the club as a "very non-murderous anarchist society". After this incident he moved to
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
with his sister and attempted to finish high school there, but two years later he moved again, to
Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...
, where he finished high school at the Academic Grammar School in 1909. During his teenage years Čapek became enamored with the visual arts, especially
Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement which began in Paris. It revolutionized painting and the visual arts, and sparked artistic innovations in music, ballet, literature, and architecture. Cubist subjects are analyzed, broke ...
, which influenced his later writing. After graduating from high school, he studied philosophy and aesthetics in Prague at
Charles University Charles University (CUNI; , UK; ; ), or historically as the University of Prague (), is the largest university in the Czech Republic. It is one of the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest universities in the world in conti ...
, but he also spent some time at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin and at the Sorbonne University in Paris. While still a university student he wrote some works on contemporary art and literature. He graduated with a doctorate of philosophy in 1915.


World War I and Interwar period

Exempted from military service due to the spinal problems that would haunt him his whole life, Čapek observed World War I from Prague. His political views were strongly affected by the war, and as a budding journalist he began to write on topics like
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
,
totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
and
consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
. James Sallis, Review of '' Karel Capek: Life and Work'' by Ivan Klima. ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'' (pp. 37–40). Through social circles, the young author developed close relationships with many of the political leaders of the nascent Czechoslovak state, including
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Tomáš () is a Czech name, Czech and Slovak name, Slovak given name, equivalent to the name Thomas (name), Thomas. Tomáš is also a surname (feminine: Tomášová). Notable people with the name include: Given name Sport *Tomáš Berdych (born 198 ...
, Czechoslovak patriot and the first
President of Czechoslovakia The president of Czechoslovakia (, ) was the head of state of Czechoslovakia, from the Origins of Czechoslovakia, creation of the First Czechoslovak Republic in 1918 until the Dissolution of Czechoslovakia, dissolution of the Czech and Slovak F ...
, and his son Jan Masaryk, (p. 3) who would later become minister of foreign affairs. T. G. Masaryk was a regular guest at Čapek's " Friday Men" garden parties for leading Czech intellectuals. Čapek was also a member of Masaryk's '' Hrad'' political network. Their frequent conversations on various topics later served as the basis for Čapek's book ''Talks with T. G. Masaryk''. Čapek began his writing career as a journalist. With his brother Josef, he worked as an editor for the Czech paper '' Národní listy'' ''(The National Newspaper)'' from October 1917 to April 1921. Upon leaving, he and Josef joined the staff of '' Lidové noviny'' ''(The People's Paper)'' in April 1921. Čapek's early attempts at fiction were short stories and plays for the most part written with his brother Josef. His first international success was '' R.U.R.'', a dystopian work about a bad day at a factory populated with sentient androids. The play was translated into English in 1922, and was being performed in the UK and America by 1923. Throughout the 1920s, Čapek worked in many writing genres, producing both fiction and non-fiction, but worked primarily as a journalist. In the 1930s, Čapek's work focused on the threat of brutal national socialist and fascist dictatorships; by the mid-1930s, Čapek had become "an outspoken anti-fascist". He also became a member of International PEN Club. He established, and was the first president of the Czechoslovak PEN Club.


Late life and death

In 1935, he married actress Olga Scheinpflugová, after a long acquaintance. In 1938, it became clear that the Western allies, namely
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, would fail to fulfil the pre-war treaty agreements, and they refused to defend Czechoslovakia against
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
. Although offered the chance to go to exile in England, Čapek refused to leave his country – even though the Nazi
Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...
had named him "public enemy number two". While repairing flood damage to his family's summer house in Stará Huť, he contracted a common cold. As he had suffered all his life from spondyloarthritis and was also a heavy smoker, Karel Čapek died of
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
, on 25 December 1938. Surprisingly, the Gestapo was not aware of his death. Several months later, just after the German invasion of Czechoslovakia, Nazi agents came to the Čapek family house in Prague to arrest him. Upon discovering that he had already been dead for some time, they arrested and interrogated his wife Olga. She was later released and lived until 1968; she died onstage of a heart attack while performing one of her husband's plays. His brother Josef was arrested in September and eventually died in the
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp Bergen-Belsen (), or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in Northern Germany, northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen, Lower Saxony, Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, ...
in April 1945. Karel Čapek and his wife are buried at the Vyšehrad Cemetery in Prague. The inscription on the tombstone reads: "Here Josef Čapek, painter and poet, would have been buried. Grave far away."


Writing

Karel Čapek wrote on a wide variety of subjects. His works are known for their precise description of reality. Čapek is renowned for his work with the
Czech language Czech ( ; ), historically known as Bohemian ( ; ), is a West Slavic language of the Czech–Slovak group, written in Latin script. Spoken by over 12 million people including second language speakers, it serves as the official language of the ...
. He is known as a science-fiction author who wrote before science fiction became widely recognized as a separate genre. Many of his works also discuss ethical aspects of industrial inventions and processes already anticipated in the first half of the 20th century. These include
mass production Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines ...
,
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s and intelligent artificial beings such as robots or androids. His most productive years were during the First Republic of Czechoslovakia (1918–1938). Čapek also expressed fear of social disasters, dictatorship, violence, human stupidity, the unlimited power of corporations, and greed. He tried to find hope, and a way out. From the 1930s onward his work became increasingly
anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...
, anti-militarist, and critical of what he saw as "irrationalism". Darko Suvin, "Capek, Karel" in '' Twentieth-Century Science-Fiction Writers'' by Curtis C. Smith. St. James Press, 1986; (pp. 842–844). Ivan Klíma, in his biography of Čapek, notes his influence on modern Czech literature, as well as on the development of Czech as a written language. Čapek, along with contemporaries like
Jaroslav Hašek Jaroslav Hašek (; 1883–1923) was a Czechs, Czech writer, Humorism, humorist, Satire, satirist, journalist, Bohemianism, bohemian, first anarchist and then communist, and commissar of the Red Army against the Czechoslovak Legion. He is best k ...
(1883-1923), spawned part of the early 20th-century revival in written Czech thanks to their decision to use the vernacular. Klíma writes, "It is thanks to Čapek that the written Czech language grew closer to the language people actually spoke". Čapek was also a translator, and his translations from French poetry inspired a new generation of Czech poets. His books and plays include detective-stories, novels,
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
s and theatre plays, and even a book on gardening. His most important works attempt to resolve problems of
epistemology Epistemology is the branch of philosophy that examines the nature, origin, and limits of knowledge. Also called "the theory of knowledge", it explores different types of knowledge, such as propositional knowledge about facts, practical knowle ...
, to answer the question: "What is knowledge?" Examples include ''Tales from Two Pockets'', and the first book of the trilogy of novels '' Hordubal,'' ''Meteor,'' and ''An Ordinary Life.'' He also co-wrote (with his brother Josef) the libretto for Zdeněk Folprecht's opera ''Lásky hra osudná'' in 1922. After World War II, Čapek's work was only reluctantly accepted by the communist government of Czechoslovakia (in office 1948–1989), because during his life he had refused to accept communism as a viable alternative. He was the first in a series of influential non-Marxist intellectuals who wrote a newspaper essay in a series called "Why I am not a Communist". In 2009 (70 years after his death), a book was published containing extensive correspondence by Karel Čapek, in which the writer discusses
pacifism Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ...
and his
conscientious objection A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–indu ...
to military service with lawyer Jindřich Groag from
Brno Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
. Until then, only a portion of these letters were known.
Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...
wrote in 1990:
I read Karel Čapek for the first time when I was a college student long ago in the Thirties. There was no writer like him ... prophetic assurance mixed with surrealistic humour and hard-edged social satire: a unique combination...he is a joy to read.


Etymology of ''robot''

Karel Čapek introduced and made popular the frequently used international word ''
robot A robot is a machine—especially one Computer program, programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions Automation, automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the robot control, co ...
'', which first appeared in his play '' R.U.R.'' in 1920. While it is frequently thought that he was the originator of the word, he wrote a short letter in reference to an article in the ''
Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
''
etymology Etymology ( ) is the study of the origin and evolution of words—including their constituent units of sound and meaning—across time. In the 21st century a subfield within linguistics, etymology has become a more rigorously scientific study. ...
in which he named his brother, painter and writer Josef Čapek, as its actual inventor. In an article in the Czech journal '' Lidové noviny'' in 1933, he also explained that he had originally wanted to call the creatures ''laboři'' (from Latin ''labor'', work). However, he did not like the word, seeing it as too artificial, and sought advice from his brother Josef, who suggested ''roboti'' (''robots'' in English). The word ''robot'' comes from the word ''robota''. The word robota means literally "
corvée Corvée () is a form of unpaid forced labour that is intermittent in nature, lasting for limited periods of time, typically only a certain number of days' work each year. Statute labour is a corvée imposed by a state (polity), state for the ...
", "serf labor", and figuratively "drudgery" or "hard work" in Czech. It also means "work", "labor" in colloquial Slovak, archaic Czech, and many other Slavic languages (e.g., Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian, Polish, Macedonian, Ukrainian, etc.). It derives from the reconstructed
Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium BC through the 6th ...
word *orbota, meaning "work, hard work, obligatory work for the king, or a short form used for plowing".


Awards and honours

The asteroid 1931 Čapek, discovered by Luboš Kohoutek was named after him. Čapek received the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, in memoriam, in 1991. Richard E. Pattis named the Karel computer programming language for Čapek.


Selected works


Plays

* 1920 – ''The Outlaw'' (''Loupežník'') * 1920 – '' R.U.R.'' (''Rossum's Universal Robots''), (''Rossumovi univerzální roboti'') – play with one of the first examples of artificial intelligence human-like beings in art and literature. * 1921 – '' Pictures from the Insects' Life'' (''Ze života hmyzu''), also known as ''The Insect Play'' or ''The Life of the Insects'', with Josef Čapek, a satire in which insects stand in for various human characteristics: the flighty, vain
butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...
, the obsequious, self-serving dung beetle. * 1922 – '' The Makropulos Affair'' (''Věc Makropulos'') – play about human immortality, not really from a science-fiction point of view. Leoš Janáček's opera is based on that. * 1927 – ''Adam the Creator'' (''Adam stvořitel'') – The titular hero tries to destroy the world and replace it with a better one. It was adapted into an animated short by Japanese director Mahiro Maeda in 2015. * 1937 – '' The White Disease'' (''Bílá nemoc'') – earlier translated as (''Power and Glory''). About the conflict between a pacifist doctor and the fascistic Marshal. This was the answer to coming Nazi era in the air, just before the start of WWII. * 1938 – ''The Mother'' (''Matka'')


Novels

* 1922 – '' The Absolute at Large'' (''Továrna na absolutno'') – novel which can be interpreted as a vision of consumer society. * 1922 – '' Krakatit'' – novel, the plot of which includes a prediction of a nuclear-weapon-like explosive. * 1933 – '' Hordubal'' – First part of the " Noetic Trilogy". * 1934 – ''Meteor'' (''Povětroň'') – Second part of the "Noetic Trilogy". * 1934 – ''An Ordinary Life'' (''Obyčejný život'') – Third part of the "Noetic Trilogy". * 1936 – '' War with the Newts'' (''Válka s mloky'') – satirical
dystopia A dystopia (lit. "bad place") is an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives. It is an imagined place (possibly state) in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically a totalitarian or environmen ...
n novel. * 1937 – ''The First Rescue Party'' (''První parta'') – novel based on the experiences of members of a rescue squad at the site of a mining accident. Became the basis for a film in 1959. * 1939 – '' Life and Work of the Composer Foltýn'' (''Život a dílo skladatele Foltýna'') – unfinished, published posthumously


Travel books

* ''Letters from Italy'' (Italské listy, 1923) * ''Letters from England'' (Anglické listy, 1924) * ''Letters from Spain'' (Výlet do Španěl, 1930) * ''Letters from Holland'' (Obrázky z Holandska, 1932) * ''Travels in the North'' (Cesta na Sever, 1936)


Other works

* ''Stories from a Pocket'' and ''Stories from Another Pocket'', (Povídky z jedné a z druhé kapsy) – a common name for a cycle of short detective stories (5–10 pages long) that shared common attitude and characters, including The Last Judgement. * ''How it is Made'' (''Jak se co dělá'') – satiric novels on the life of theater, newspaper and movie studio. * ''The Gardener's Year'' (''Zahradníkův rok'', 1929) is exactly what it says it is: a year-round guide to gardening, charmingly written, with illustrations by his brother Josef Čapek. * ''Apocryphal Tales'' (''Kniha apokryfů'', 1932, 2nd edition 1945) – short stories about literary and historical characters, such as
Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
, a struggling playwright,
Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; ) was the Roman administration of Judaea (AD 6–135), fifth governor of the Judaea (Roman province), Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official wh ...
,
Don Juan Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni ( Italian), is a legendary fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. The original version of the story of Don Juan appears in the 1630 play (''The Trickster of Seville and t ...
,
Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...
arguing with his teacher
Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...
, and
Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a pious woma ...
and
Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...
attempting to name ten good people so Sodom can be saved.' ** ''The Punishment of Prometheus'' (1932) ** ''Times Aren't What They Were'' (1931) ** ''As in the Good Old Days'' (1926) ** ''Thersites'' (1931) ** ''Agathon, or Concerning Wisdom'' (1920) ** ''Alexander the Great'' (1937) ** ''The Death of Archimedes'' (1938) ** ''The Roman Legions'' (1928) ** ''The Ten Righteous'' (1931) ** ''Pseudo Lot, or Concerning Patriotism'' (1923) ** ''Christmas Eve'' (1930) ** ''Martha and Mary'' (1932) ** ''Lazarus'' (1932) ** ''The Fives Loaves'' (1937) ** ''Benchanan'' (1934) ** ''The Crucifixion'' (1927) ** ''Pilate's Evening'' (1934) ** ''Pilate's Creed'' (1920) ** ''The Emperor Diocletian'' (1932) ** ''Attila'' (1932) ** ''The Idol Breakers'' (1936) ** ''Brother Francis'' (1932) ** ''Ophir'' (1932) ** ''Goneril'' (1933) ** ''Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'' (1934) ** ''Don Juan's Confession'' (1932) ** ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1932) ** ''Master Hynek Rab of Kufstejn'' (1933) ** ''Napoleon'' (1933) * ''Nine Fairy Tales: And One More Thrown in for Good Measure'' (''Devatero Pohádek a ještě jedna od Josefa Čapka jako přívažek'', 1932) – a collection of
fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful bei ...
s, aimed at children. * ''Dashenka, or the Life of a Puppy'' (''Dášeňka čili Život štěněte'', 1933) * ''The Shirts '' (short story)


Selected bibliography

* ''The Absolute at Large'', 1922 (in Czech), 1927,
The Macmillan Company Macmillan Inc. (also known as Macmillan US, and formerly The Macmillan Company) was an American book publishing company originally established as the American division of the British Macmillan Publishers. The two were later separated and acqui ...
, New York, translator uncredited. Also published 1975, Garland Publishing , *
Apocryphal Tales
', 1945 (in Czech), 1997, Catbird Press Paperback , Translated by Norma Comrada * ''An Atomic Phantasy: Krakatit'' or simply ''Krakatit'', 1924 (in Czech) * ''Believe in People : the essential Karel Čapek : previously untranslated journalism and letters'' 2010. Faber and Faber, . Selected and translated with an introduction by Šárka Tobrmanová-Kühnová; preface by John Carey. * ''The Cheat''. Allen and Unwin, 1941. * ''Cross Roads'', 2002, Catbird Press, cloth; trade paperback. Translation by Norma Comrada of "Boží muka" (1917) and "Trapné povídky" (1921). * ''I Had a Dog and a Cat''. Allen & Unwin, 1940. * ''Nine Fairy Tales: And One More Thrown in for Good Measure'', 1996, Northwestern Univ Press Paperback Reissue Edition, . Illustrated by Josef Capek, Translated by Dagmar Herrmann * ''R.U.R.'', 1970, Pocket Books * ''Tales from Two Pockets'' 1928–29 (in Czech), 1994, Catbird Press Paperback, . Translation by Norma Comrada. * ''Talks With T. G. Masaryk'' (non-fiction). Biography of T. G. Masaryk, founder of Czechoslovakia. * ''Three Novels: Hordubal, Meteor, An Ordinary Life'', 1933–34, Translated by M. and R. Weatherall, 1990, Catbird Press * ''Toward the Radical Center: A Karel Capek Reader''. Collection of stories, plays and columns. Edited by Peter Kussi, Catbird Press * '' War with the Newts'' 1936 (in Czech), 1967, Berkley Medallion Edition Paperback. Translated by M. & R. Weatherall, March 1990, Catbird Press paperback, , October 1996, Northwestern University Press paperback . Another English translation by Ewald Osers


See also

* Brothers Čapek * Czech speculative fiction


References


Further reading

* Šulcová, Marie. Čapci, Ladění pro dvě struny, Poločas nadějí, Brána věčnosti. Praha: Melantrich 1993– 98 * Šulcová, Marie. Prodloužený čas Josefa Čapka. Praha: Paseka 2000 * Harkins, William Edward. Karel Čapek. New York: Columbia University Press, 1962. * Gabriel, Jiří, ed. Slovník Českých Filozofů. V Brne: Masarykova univerzita, 1998, 79–82 (in Czech). * Swirski, Peter. "Chapter 4 Karel Čapek and the Politics of Memory" ''From LowBrow to Nobrow''. Montreal, London: McGill–Queen's University Press, 2005. * Milner, Andrew. "Chapter 6 From Rossums Universal Robots to Buffy the Vampire Slayer" ''Literature, Culture and Society''. London, New York: Routledge, 2005. * Margolius, Ivan. 'The Robot of Prague', Newsletter, The Friends of Czech Heritage no. 17, Autumn 2017, pp. 3–6. https://czechfriends.net/images/RobotsMargoliusJul2017.pdf


Čapek biographies in English

* ''Karel Čapek: An Essay'' by Alexander Matuška, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1964. Translation from the Slovak by Cathryn Alan of ''Člověk proti zkáze: Pokus o Karla Čapka''. * ''Karel Čapek'' by William E. Harkins, Columbia University Press, 1962. * ''Karel Čapek: In Pursuit of Truth, Tolerance and Trust'' by Bohuslava R. Bradbrook, Sussex Academic Press, 1998, . * ''Karel Čapek: Life and Work'' by Ivan Klíma, Catbird Press, 2002, . Translation from the Czech by Norma Comrada of ''Velký věk chce mít též velké mordy: Život a dílo Karla Čapka''.


External links

* * * * * *
Karel Čapek, 1890–1938
nbsp;– brief biography, with information about the writer's plays and novels
KarelCapek.com


* * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20071017211339/http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/c/capek/karel/ Čapek in English translation by David Wyllie
Čapek, Karel: Válka s Mloky
Czech version, online book
Karel Čapek entry at the Literary Encyclopedia

Complete work of Karel Capek is available in fulltext on the web sites of Municipal library in Prague

Karel Čapek at Czechoslovak book network Baila.net
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Bratří Čapkové
(The Brothers Čapek) at LC Authorities, with 6 records {{DEFAULTSORT:Capek, Karel 1890 births 1938 deaths 20th-century Czech writers 20th-century Czech novelists 20th-century Czech dramatists and playwrights Charles University alumni Czech anti-fascists Czech anti-communists Czech art critics Czechoslovak critics Czech children's writers Czech essayists Czech journalists Czech librettists Czech literary critics Czech male dramatists and playwrights Czech male novelists Czech photographers Czech political writers Czech satirists Czech satirical novelists Czech science fiction writers Czech short story writers Czech theatre critics Czech travel writers Modernist theatre Modernist writers Opinion journalists People from the Kingdom of Bohemia People from Trutnov District Recipients of the Order of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Writers who illustrated their own writing Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery