Jakub Arbes

Born in Prague’s Smíchov district in 1840, Jakub Arbes became a Czech writer, journalist, and public intellectual whose work stood close to the lively literary and political debates of his time. He studied at the Prague Polytechnical Institute but turned fully toward journalism and literature, building a reputation for bold opinions and intellectual curiosity.

Arbes is best known as the creator of the romanetto, a distinctive prose form that combines suspense, philosophical reflection, and often a rational explanation behind seemingly strange events. He was also associated with progressive Czech cultural circles and spent part of his professional life in France, experiences that broadened the outlook of his writing.

He died in Prague in 1914, but his place in Czech literary history has remained secure. Readers still return to him for stories that feel both imaginative and analytical, and for the way he helped push Czech prose toward a more modern style.