Némcová, Božena

Related Category: Russian and Eastern European Literature: Biographies

(bô´zhĕnä nĕm´tsôvä), 1820–62, Czech novelist and storyteller. Némcová developed the regional tale, which she enhanced with an original prose style. Her work provided escape from a wretchedly poor and unhappy life. Her best-known novel is Babička (1855, tr. The Grandmother, 1891), a simple, moving portrait of Czech village life. Her other major works include Mountain Village (1856). She also published a collection of Slovak folk tales.