Marie Majerová

Marie Majerová (1 February 1882 – 16 January 1967) was a Czech writer and translator.[1]

Marie Majerová
BornMarie Bartošová[1]
(1882-02-01)1 February 1882
Úvaly, Kingdom of Bohemia
Died16 January 1967(1967-01-16) (aged 84)
Prague, Czechoslovakia
NationalityCzech
Genreshort story, novel

Biography

The daughter of working class parents, she was born in Úvaly and grew up in Kladno. When she was sixteen, she began working as a servant in Budapest. She went on to complete her education in Prague, Paris and Vienna. She was a member of the Czechoslovak Communist Party from its inception and was also involved in the feminist movement.[2]

In 1907, she published a collection of stories Povídky z pekla a jiné (Stories from Hell and other stories) and a novel Panenství (Maidenhood). Her writing concerns itself with the oppression of the working class and of women. She also wrote literature for children.[2]

Majerová was married twice: first to the journalist Josef Stivín and then to the graphic artist Slavoboj Tusar.[3]

She died in Prague at the age of 84.[2]

The 1937 film Virginity, directed by Otakar Vávra, was based on her novel Panenství. Her novel Siréna was the basis for the screenplay for the 1947 film of the same name with English title The Strike, directed by Karel Steklý. The 1947 film received a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.[4]

Czech-Canadian author Josef Škvorecký has said that his character Marie Burdychova in The Miracle Game was physically based on Marie Majerová.[5]

Selected works[2]
  • Náměstí republiky (Republic square). novel (1914)
  • Nejkrásnější svět (The most beautiful of worlds), novel (1920)
  • Mučenky (Passionflowers), short stories (1924)
  • Přehrada (The Farmer), novel (1932)
  • Siréna (The Siren), novel (1935)
  • Havířská balada (Ballad of a miner) (1938)
  • Spisy, collected works in 19 volumes (1962)

References
  1. "Marie Majerová (1.2. 1882 – 16. 1. 1967)". SocietyMAG (in Czech).
  2. Wilson, Katharina M (1881). An Encyclopedia of Continental Women Writers. Volume 1. pp. 759–60. ISBN 0824085477.
  3. "Marie Majerová (1882-1967)". Bibliothèque nationale de France.
  4. Liehm, Mira; Liehm, Antonín J (1977). The Most Important Art: Eastern European Film After 1945. pp. 25, 99. ISBN 0520031571.
  5. Busby, Brian (2010). Character Parts: Who's Really Who in CanLit. p. 739. ISBN 978-0307368584.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.