HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Božena Němcová () (4 February 1820 in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
– 21 January 1862 in
Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
) was a Czech writer of the final phase of the '' Czech National Revival'' movement. Her image is featured on the 500
CZK The koruna, or crown, ( sign: Kč; code: CZK, cs, koruna česká) has been the currency of the Czech Republic since 1993. The koruna is one of the European Union's 9 currencies, and the Czech Republic is legally bound to adopt the euro cur ...
denomination of the Česká koruna.


Biography

According to the dating up to now accepted by the majority of Czech authors, Božena Němcová was born in 1820 as ''Barbara Pankel'' (or ''Barbora Panklová'' according to the usual Czech name-giving for women) in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
as a daughter of Johann Pankel from
Lower Austria Lower Austria (german: Niederösterreich; Austro-Bavarian: ''Niedaöstareich'', ''Niedaestareich'') is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Since 1986, the capital of Lower Austria has been Sankt P ...
and Teresie Novotná, a maid of
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...
n origin. In her childhood she lived near the small town of Ratibořice, where her grandmother Magdalena Novotná played an important part in her life. Němcová would later write her most famous novel with the main character inspired by her grandmother. When she was 17 years old, she married Josef Němec, fifteen years her senior, who worked as a customs officer and was therefore a state employee. The marriage was arranged by Barbora's parents and became an unhappy one, as the married couple did not understand each other very well. Němec was said to be a rude and authoritarian man. He was a Bohemian patriot, which did not sit well with his superiors, and he was often transferred to different locations and later lost his job. The couple had four children and suffered from a lack of money. Němcová died in poverty, estranged from her husband. She is said to have been in an intimate relationship with the poet Václav Bolemír Nebeský. The Bohemian patriots arranged a magnificent funeral for her.


Speculations on Božena Němcová's real origin

Some authors question the birthdate (the preserved documents differ) and the real origin of Božena Němcová. According to one hypothesis, Němcová could have been born three to four years earlier than previously thought, and been an illegitimate daughter of Wilhelmine, Duchess of Sagan (1781–1839). Helena Sobková, a writer of popular-history books about Němcová, believes that Němcová may actually have been the niece of Wilhelmine. In 1816 an illegitimate daughter was born to Wilhelmine's younger sister, Dorothée de Talleyrand-Périgord, and Count Karl Jan Clam-Martinic (1792–1840) in Bourbon-l'Archambault (a French spa). The child was not officially recognized by its mother; it was registered as Marie-Henriette Dessalles.See Johannes Willms, "Talleyrand: Virtuose der Macht", C.H. Beck, Munich 2011, p. 226. The child's further fate is unknown, and it is possible that Duchess Wilhelmine of Sagan later gave the girl to Němcová's parents to raise her as their own child under the name Barbora Panklová. None of these speculations, however, have been definitely proven by serious historical research.


Bibliography


Novels

* ''Babička'' ('' The Grandmother'') (1855) – Němcová's best-known novel about a young girl named Barunka (a pet form of Barbora) and her childhood with her grandmother in the countryside. The book was inspired by Němcová's own childhood in the village of Ratibořice, where she lived with her parents, siblings and maternal grandmother Magdalena Novotná. * ''Pohorská vesnice'' (The village under mountains) (1855)


Fairy tales and legends

* ''Chýše pod horami'' * ''O dvanácti měsíčkách'' * ''Národní báchorky a pověsti'' (National Stories and Legends) * ''Slovenské pohádky a pověsti'' (Slovak Fairy Tales and Legends) * ''Selská politika'' (Country Politics) * ''Hospodyně na slovíčko'' * ''Dopisy z lázní Františkových'' (The Letters from Franzenbad) * ''Listy přítele přítelkyni'' * ''Silný Ctibor'' * ''Devět křížů'' (Nine Crosses)


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nemcova, Bozena 1820 births 1862 deaths 19th-century women writers Austrian people of Czech descent Writers from Vienna Czech women poets Czech women novelists 19th-century Czech novelists 19th-century Czech poets Burials at Vyšehrad Cemetery