“Blanka” (Blanche) an intimation of troubadour days in the Provence; in the love of “Olgerd Gejstor” for the Czech Queen Anne, there is the distinctive Lithuanian background; the romance “Gabriel de Espinos” and the tragedy of “Dona Sancha” evince the Spanish influence; in “Ghismonda” and more clearly in his semi-autobiographical novel “Jan Marya Plojhar” appears the Italian influence; the novel “Dům u Tonoucí Hvězdy” (The House of the Waning Star) is the consequence of his sojourn in France; in the “Chronicles of Saint Brandon” and “The Return of Ossian” his Irish studies are evident. Just as faithful is he in giving the Czech and Slovak atmosphere as for instance in “Raduz a Mahulena,” a fairy tale of the Slovak region, “Neklan” and “Vyšehrad” of the pagan Czech period, “Duhový Pták” (The Rainbow Bird) a novel of modern Bohemia.
Jaroslav Vrchlický (Emil Frida) the most prolific and versatile writer of the nation, deserves to be named likewise its greatest cosmopolite. Thoroughly travelled and with deep knowledge of all ancient and modern civilizations to which he gives expression in his works, he fully deserves the title. His original poems alone fill sixty-four generous volumes, his prose tales, novels and dramas are represented in some twenty or more volumes, not to speak of his valuable critical and literary essays of which there are at least a dozen volumes. To these must be added an immense number of unparalleled translations from the literatures of practically all
