Czech Books Bozena Nemcova - the mother of Czech prose
Hello and welcome to Czech Books, which this week will be looking at the Czech icon and -in the words of Milan Kundera - the mother of Czech prose, Bozena Nemcova. We'd like today to dig a bit deeper into the reality of the woman behind the image, which is embedded in Czech culture. Nemcova lived from 1820 to 1862 and was a major figure in the Czech national revival. She's most famous for her book about an idealized rural community in the early 19th century, "Babicka" - The Grandmother. This book has been translated into many languages and is known by all Czechs as part of their school reading. Nemcova's image is also very much a part of Czech culture. Here are a few lines from Babicka in a 19th century translation by Frances Gregor.
The sculptural group in the Grandmother's Valley
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