Ljubomil Tito Josip Franjo Babić, better known by his
pen name
A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
Ksaver Šandor Gjalski, (also cited as Đalski, both ; 26 October 1854 – 6 February 1935)
was a Croatian
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 wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
and
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
.
Biography
He was born in Gredice near
Zabok in
Hrvatsko Zagorje into a minor aristocratic family. His father Tito was a
feudal lord
An overlord in the English feudal system was a lord of a manor who had subinfeudated a particular manor, estate or fee, to a tenant. The tenant thenceforth owed to the overlord one of a variety of services, usually military service or s ...
and
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters.
The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...
who served as a representative in
Sabor and was a strong supporter of the
Croatian national revival. His mother Helena was the daughter of Franjo Ksaver Šandor Gjalski, also a feudal lord and lawyer, from whom Ljubomil took his pen name in 1884. His mother was also a relative of the Croatian poet
Antun Mihanović.
[ He finished gymnasium in ]Varaždin
Varaždin ( or ; , also known by #Name, alternative names) is a city in Northern Croatia, north-east of Zagreb. The total population is 46,946, with 38,839 in the city settlement itself (2011).
The city is best known for its baroque buildings, ...
in 1871 and went on to study law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
in Zagreb
Zagreb ( ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...
between 1871 and 1873 before finishing his studies in Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
[ In 1880, he moved to ]Virovitica
Virovitica () is a Croatian city near the Hungary, Hungarian border. It is situated near the Drava river and belongs to the historic region of Slavonia. Virovitica has a population of 14,688, with 21,291 people in the municipality (census 2011). I ...
, where he met his future wife, Vilma Gönner, a teacher at the local girls' school.[ He served the royal government in Zagreb between 1891 and 1898, but, due to disagreements with the Khuen government, returned to Gredice.][
Gjalski, however, remained involved in politics. In 1906, he was elected into the Sabor, aligning himself with the Croat-Serb Coalition. From 1917 to 1918, he held the post of ]župan
Župan is a noble and administrative title used in several states in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 21st century. It was (and in Croatia still is) the leader of the administrat ...
of the Zagreb County
Zagreb County () is a county in Northern Croatia. It surrounds, but does not contain, the nation's capital Zagreb, which is a separate territorial unit. For that reason, the county is often nicknamed "Zagreb ring" (). According to the 2021 censu ...
.Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast Europe, Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () h ...
in Belgrade
Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...
, retiring at the end of 1920.[ He served twice as the president of the Croatian Writers' Association (1909-1918, 1926)][
Gjalski wrote many novels, but his best known work is ''Under Old Roofs'' (), a collection of ]short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...
in which he described the economic decline of the Croatian aristocracy.
Major works
* ''In the New Castle'' (, 1885)
* ''Under Old Roofs'' (, 1886)
* ''At Night'' (, 1887)
* ''Janko Borislavić'' (1887)
* ''Đurđica Agićeva'' (1889)
* ''Na rođenoj grudi'' (1890)
* ''Dawn'' (, 1892)
* ''Radmilović'' (1894)
* ''For the Maternal Word'' (, 1902)
* ''Arrival of the Croats'' (, 1924)
* ''Misappropriated Ideals'' (, 1925)
See also
* House of Kušević – Croatian nobility Gjalski was related to
References
1854 births
1935 deaths
People from Zabok
Croatian writers
Representatives in the Croatian Parliament (1848–1918)
Faculty of Law, University of Zagreb alumni
University of Vienna alumni
Writers from Austria-Hungary
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