The directory «Plots»

Jirásek Alois
(1851–1930)

Alois Jirásek was a Czech writer, author of historical novels and plays. He was the most important Czech novelist in the period before World War I, and a great national figure. Jirásek was a secondary-school teacher until his retirement in 1909. He wrote a series of historical novels imbued with faith in his nation and in progress toward freedom and justice. He was particularly attracted by the Hussite period of Bohemian history (15th century), to which he devoted his most famous work, the trilogy Mezi proudy (1891; “Between the Currents”), Proti všem (1894; “Against All the World”), and Bratrstvo (1899–1908; “Brotherhood”). Perhaps of greater artistic significance is his five-volume portrayal of the 19th-century Czech national revival in F.L. Vek (1888–1906), and his best work is probably his last major novel, Temno (1915; “Darkness”), in which he painted a vivid picture of Bohemia in the grip of the Counter-Reformation. Jirásek's novels are founded upon careful historical reading, and his rich and detailed descriptive passages contribute to his work a colour and individuality that offset the conventionality of the characterizations. His literary output also included plays and short stories.

Czech Republic, 2001, Stamp with Alois Jirásek

Czech Republic, 2004, Dvořák, opera «Jakobín»

Czechoslovakia, 1949, Alois Jirasek

Czechoslovakia, 1951, Alois Jirasek

Czechoslovakia, 1951, «Fables and Fates»

Czechoslovakia, 1951, The Region of Tabor

Czechoslovakia, 1951, Alois Jirasek

Czechoslovakia, 1953, Jirasek Museum

Czechoslovakia, 1951.08.19, Hronov. Aloise Jirasek

Czech Republic, 1996, Museum of Alois Jirasek