Karel Hynek Mácha - Dawn Seen

For more than a hundred years, Myslbek's statue has watched over lovers on Petřín Hill.

Let's ask ourselves a question: Is this polished work the real Mácha? Or is there at least a partial truth hidden within it?

Partially, yes. There was also a melodious chord that resonated within the author of *Máj* (May). However, read the entire poem… and decide for yourself whether it contains more dark or light moods and tones.

The same was true of the real Karel Hynek Mácha before he became a “marble bust” – after his regrettably early death. Those who have a fixed image of him as an eternal youth with a blissful smile will probably be surprised to hear about his sudden mood swings or irascibility. And that's not all; we also find a pragmatic streak in him: an excellent student at all levels, an ambitious budding lawyer, a surprisingly pragmatic businessman…

Add to all this a wide range of talents – a gifted poet, prose writer, and playwright (as well as a musician), a skilfully adept painter, a confident speaker and actor, and a tireless traveller with a sporting spirit – and you have before you a Somebody with a capital S. When we add the fact that *Máj* was ahead of its time in our literary context (and in some respects has not been “caught up with” to this day), Mácha's increasing restlessness in the last years of his life, and finally his death, which can only be called tragic and needless, then this personality cannot leave us indifferent even after two centuries.

The proven duo of Otomar Dvořák and Josef Pepson Snětivý do not engage in tedious analyses of every line in Mácha's literary estate, nor do they present a classic travelogue. They look at Hynek as an extraordinary person: not as an idol or a tormented “rebel without a cause,” but holistically and with an awareness of his private and social contexts.

The authors – just like their hero – admire the beauty and diversity of Czech settlements and landscapes. They therefore follow him in Prague and other cities, but above all on his travels. For Mácha also became a pioneer of Czech tourism and one of those who began to map our beautiful country through images and notes.

Otomar describes Mácha's life literally from the cradle, gives it a historical framework, quotes from relevant passages of his work, and pauses at the most interesting moments… He thus writes a colourful chronicle of a young life. Pepson, in chapters whose titles always begin with the words *Mácha as seen…*, transforms himself, in Hynek's style, into an eager, enchanted pilgrim who walks in his footsteps.

Given where all these footsteps can be found, this first book on Mácha is limited to the years of his childhood, adolescence, and flight into the world of adults. The story is roughly demarcated by the years 1810 and 1832.

The readable text is complemented by several hundred historical and contemporary photographs. Together with the authors, you will embark on a fascinating journey through the life and landscape of Karel Hynek Mácha.