Vilém Mrštík

Vilém Mrštík (14 May 1863 in Jimramov – 2 March 1912 in Diváky) was a Czech writer and dramatist.

Career
He is known for his novel Santa Lucia (1893). With his brother, Alois (1861–1925) he also wrote the drama Maryša (1894). This play, set in rural Moravia, explored gender roles and tradition in a small village. In contrast to the more positive renderings of rural life by the writers of the National Revival, the brothers attempted a more impartial view of life in the countryside.

He is also famous for having fought against the mass destruction of historic buildings carried out as part of urban renewal plans for parts of Prague by publishing two influential essays: Manifest to the Czech People (1896), and Bestia triumphans in 1897.

Works

 * Paní Urbanová (Mrs Urbanová) 1889, drama
 * Santa Lucia 1893, novel
 * Obrázky (Pictures) 1894, anthology
 * Maryša 1895, drama, written with his brother, Alois Mrštík
 * Pohádka máje (A May Tale) 1897, novel
 * Anežka (Agnes) 1912, drama