Born: 30 November 1873, Czechia
Died: 8 April 1936
Country most active: Czechia
Also known as: Božena Zapletalová
Czech writer Božena Benešová was one of the trailblazers of psychological fiction, which emphasizes characters’ motivations, thoughts and feelings. Specifically, her works often featured young people from small towns who struggle with loneliness and selfishness.
Married in 1908, she and her husband divorced in 1912 but continued to live together until his death in 1933. Her friendship with fellow writer Růžena Svobodová led her to embark on her own career, including poetry, novels, short stories and plays published from 1909 until the year she died, 1936.
Poetry collections
Verse True and Untrue (1909)
Verse (1938)
Novels
A Human Being (1919–20), a novel in two parts
The Blow (1926), Pt. 1 of the Úder trilogy
Underground Flames (1929), Pt. 2 of the Úder trilogy
Rainbow of Tragedy (1933), Pt. 3 of the Úder trilogy
Don Pablo, Don Pedro and Věra Lukášová (1936)
Short story collections
Three Tales (1914)
Mice: Tales from 1909-13 (1916)
Cruel Youth (1917)
Silent Girls (1922)
The Beguiled: A Book of Stories (1923)
Boys: Stories about Children (1927)
Plays
Dramas (1937), including “Bitter Drink,” “Clairvoyant” and “Golden Sheep”