Ioan Slavici
1848–1925
Biography
Ioan Slavici (1848–1925) was a Romanian writer and journalist who lived both in Austria-Hungary and in Romania. He was born at Șiria, then in the Austrian Empire, and died at Crucea de Jos, in Putna County, Romania. He settled in Bucharest in 1874, worked there as a secretary, a teacher and an editor, and was elected a corresponding member of the Romanian Academy in 1882.
He made his debut in 1871 in the review Convorbiri literare with the comedy Fata de birău (The Mayor's Daughter), written at the urging of Mihai Eminescu, with whom he also founded the Young Romania society. His best-known fiction describes village life in Transylvania and includes the novel Mara and the stories Moara cu noroc and Pădureanca. The critic George Călinescu, cited in the Romanian article, praised how closely he observed rural manners, dress and speech.
He was also a prominent journalist. He worked on the Bucharest paper Timpul, founded the Tribuna in Sibiu, and edited the review Vatra with Ion Luca Caragiale and George Coșbuc. His articles led to five spells in prison, in Austria-Hungary and in Romania, which he later described in Închisorile mele (1920). The Romanian article also names him as the most representative figure among the promoters of antisemitism in Transylvania, a part of his public record that readers should weigh alongside his fiction. The book on this site, Povești ('Tales'), is listed under his name.
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Books
Povești
by Ioan Slavici
Seven Romanian folk tales retold by Ioan Slavici, among them Zâna zorilor (The Fairy of the Dawn), Florița din codru, Ileana cea șireată, the trickster Păcală in his own village, Petrea the simpleton and Limir the emperor. Princes ride enchanted horses past dragons and the…
Summary written by Claude Opus 5.5.