Novy, Karel

Nový, Karel 

(pen name of Karel Novák). Born Dec. 8, 1890, in Benešov. Czech writer. People’s Artist of Czechoslovakia (1960).

Nový gained recognition for his trilogy The Iron Circle, which deals with the life of the rural proletariat. The trilogy includes the novels The Křeš in Farmstead (1927), The Heart in the Midst of a Storm (1930), and Face to Face (1932). Nový’s novels We Want to Live (1933) and, At the Crossroads (1934; 2nd ed., 1949; Russian translation, 1962) deal with the economic crisis in Czechoslovakia. His novels The Attempt (1935) and Knights and Brigands (1940) are devoted to historic themes.

During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, Nový was arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Since the liberation of Czechoslovakia, he has been active as a publicistic and children’s writer. Nový’s autobiographical novel The Flame and the Wind (1959; Russian translation, 1965) is based on his The Town of Rańkov (1927).

WORKS

Spisy, vols. 1–21. Prague, 1953–59.

REFERENCES

Filipchikova, R. “Karel Novyi.” In Natsional’nye traditsii i genezis sot- sialisticheskogo realizma. Moscow, 1965.
Fučík, J. “Román o vesnickém proletariáte” In Stati o literatuře. Prague, 1951.

S. A. SHERLAIMOVA