Karel Sabina (pen names include Arian Želinský and Leo Blass) (29 December 1813 – 8 November 1877) was a Czech writer and journalist.

Life

Karel Sabina grew up in poverty as an extramarital child of a daughter of a sugar producing factory's director in the family of a bricklayer and a washerwoman. Sabina later claimed that he was an illegitimate son of a Polish noble. Studied philosophy and law, but did not graduate. In 1848, Sabina became one of the leaders of the Czech radical democrats, the founder of a secret radical political circle "Repeal" (the name inspired by Irish revolutionaries), a member of the National Committee and the Czech congress. Sabina published many articles (several of which were censored) to magazines during this period.

Imprisonment

In 1849, he was arrested for taking part in the " May Coup" (a plan to make an uprising, inspired by Bakunin, then present in Prague) and in 1851 sentenced to death together with 24 other men; but these sentences were changed by the

Emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

to 18 years in the

Olomouc Olomouc (; ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants, making it the Statutory city (Czech Republic), sixth largest city in the country. It is the administrative centre of the Olomouc Region. Located on the Morava (rive ...

prison; in 1857 he was released, following the Emperor's general amnesty of May 8. He came back to

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and lived as a freelance writer.

Allegations of betrayal

In 1870, the newspaper ''Vaterland'' accused Sabina of being a police

informant An informant (also called an informer or, as a slang term, a "snitch", "rat", "canary", "stool pigeon", "stoolie", "tout" or "grass", among other terms) is a person who provides privileged information, or (usually damaging) information inten ...

. Sabina successfully sued the newspaper for a libel. In 1872, in an unofficial trial by a self-appointed jury of eight Czech intellectuals (including Jan Neruda and Vítězslav Hálek), Karel Sabina was found guilty of being an informant. Sabina, unable to find

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

abroad, was forced to live in hiding in Prague. For the rest of his life, Karel Sabina denied the accusations.Karel Sabina
The reasons of Sabina's alleged cooperation with the police are not quite clear; if it happened, it might have been a combination of disillusion with the failed revolution which resulted in his long imprisonment, constant police pressure afterwards and his extreme poverty.Karel Sabina
/ref> Being an outcast - his books were no longer sold, on posters (such as the one for the '' Prodaná nevěsta'' - whose

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

was seen by some people as Sabina's refutation of the accusations until

Miroslav Ivanov Miroslav Ivanov may refer to: * Miroslav Ivanov (writer) (1929–1999), Czech nonfiction writer * Miroslav Ivanov (footballer) (born 1981), Bulgarian footballer * Miroslav Ivanov (musician) (born 1975), Bulgarian guitar player {{hndis, Ivanov, Mir ...

's investigation in 1971 published in Ivanov's book ''Labyrint'' proved them incorrect) his name was replaced by his initials, and he risked physical attacks whenever he appeared on the streets. However, he continued to write under pen names, some of which are unknown today, thus greatly complicating the historians' effort to make Sabina's

bibliography Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliograph ...

of articles complete.

Death

Sabina died in poverty and scorn on 8 November 1877, aged 63. General exhaustion being given as the cause of death.

Selected works

As a journalist, he wrote mainly for ''Květy'', ''Moravský Týdenník'', ''Humorist'', ''Lípa'', ''Pražské noviny'' and ''Wčela'' (he was an editor in the last two, replacing Karel Havlíček Borovský in both of them).

Novels

* ''Hrobník'' (1837), ''Sexton'' * ''Blouznění'' (1857), ''Rapture'' * ''Hedvika'' (1858), ''Hedwig'' * ''Jen tři léta!'' (1860), ''Three years only!'' * ''Na poušti'' (1863), ''In the desert'' * ''Oživené hroby'' (1870), ''Enlivened Graves'', inspired by his imprisonment, his best novel * ''Morana čili Svět a jeho nicoty'' (1874), '' Morana or The World and its Nothingnesses''

Plays

* ''Černá růže'', ''The Black Rose'' * ''Inzerát'', ''Advertisement'' * ''Šašek Jiřího z Poděbrad'', ''

Jester A jester, also known as joker, court jester, or fool, was a member of the household of a nobleman or a monarch kept to entertain guests at the royal court. Jesters were also travelling performers who entertained common folk at fairs and town ma ...

of George of Poděbrady'' * ''Maloměstské klepny'', ''Smalltown Gossipmongers''

Tales

* ''Obrazy ze 14. a 15. věku'' (1844), ''Tales from the 14th and the 15th century'' * ''Povídky, pověsti, obrazy a novely'' (1845), ''Stories, legends, tales and novellas''

Librettos

* '' Prodaná nevěsta'', by Bedřich Smetana * '' Braniboři v Čechách'', by Bedřich Smetana * ''Starý ženich'', by Karel Bendl * ''V studni'', by Vilém Blodek

Others

* ''Básně'' (1841), ''Poems'' * ''Úvod povahopisný'' (1845), ''Introduction to a temperament'' - a very important book, being the very first study on

Karel Hynek Mácha Karel Hynek Mácha () (16 November 1810 – 5 November 1836) was a Czechs, Czech Romanticism, romantic poet. His poem ''Máj'' is among the most important poems in the history of Czech literature. Biography Mácha was born on 16 November 1810 ...

, who was Sabina's friend. This book recognised and illustrated Mácha's importance and genius. * ''Duchovní komunismus'' (1861), ''Spiritual

Communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

'' - about everyone's right for education * ''Dějiny literatury československé'', ''The History of the Czechoslovakian Literature''

Sabina in popular culture

Karel Sabina is mentioned in several poems in prose by Ivan Wernisch.

References

External links

* M. Ivanov, ''Labyrint'', Prague, 1971
Info and photo, in Czech

Info and photo, in Czech

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sabina, Karel 1813 births 1877 deaths Writers from Prague Journalists from the Austrian Empire Poets from the Austrian Empire Poets from Austria-Hungary 19th-century Czech philosophers 19th-century Czech poets Czech male poets Czech male dramatists and playwrights Czech opera librettists 19th-century journalists Czech male journalists 19th-century Czech dramatists and playwrights 19th-century Czech male writers