The Czech Republic (also known as Czechia) is a Central European country located at the crossroads of Slavic and Germanic cultures. Over the centuries, this cultural position has shaped a rich and distinctive literary tradition, marked by linguistic revival, political upheaval, and an enduring concern with individual freedom.
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Best Books Set in the Czech Republic
Discover the best books set in the Czech Republic, from Czech classics to internationally acclaimed novels.
A Sensitive Person by Jáchym Topol
The Last Goddess by Kateřina Tučková
HHhH by Laurent Binet
Love Letter in Cuneiform by Tomáš Zmeškal
Transfigured Night by Libuše Moníková
Bringing Up Girls in Bohemia by Michal Viewegh
Utz by Bruce Chatwin
Love and Garbage by Ivan Klíma
The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
I served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal
Kepler by John Banville
How I Came to Know Fish by Ota Pavel
Complete List of Books Set in the Czech Republic
The following is a complete list of books set in the Czech Republic featured on this website.
- A Sensitive Person by Jáchym Topol
- Bringing Up Girls in Bohemia by Michal Viewegh
- HHhH by Laurent Binet
- How I Came to Know Fish by Ota Pavel
- I served the King of England by Bohumil Hrabal
- Kepler by John Banville
- Love and Garbage by Ivan Klíma
- Love Letter in Cuneiform by Tomáš Zmeškal
- Mendelssohn is on the Roof by Jiří Weil
- The Castle by Franz Kafka
- The Golem by Isaac Bashevis Singer
- The Good Soldier Švejk by Jaroslav Hašek
- The Last Goddess by Kateřina Tučková
- The Radetzky March by Joseph Roth
- The Trial by Franz Kafka
- The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera
- Transfigured Night by Libuše Moníková
- Utz by Bruce Chatwin
Nineteenth-Century Czech Literature
During the nineteenth century, the Czech lands formed part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This political context had a profound influence on Czech literature. While some writers worked within the broader cultural framework of the Empire, others sought to revive the Czech language and articulate a distinct national identity.
A central figure of this period was Josef Jungmann, a poet and translator who played a crucial role in the Czech National Revival. Together with Josef Dobrovský, he helped lay the foundations of the modern Czech language.
Other important nineteenth-century authors include Božena Němcová, whose novel The Grandmother (Babička) is regarded as a cornerstone of Czech literature; Karolina Světlá, known for works such as A Village Novel; Jan Neruda, author of Tales of the Lesser Quarter (also published in English as Prague Tales); and Alois Jirásek, whose Legends of Old Bohemia helped popularise Czech history and mythology.
Twentieth-Century Czech Literature
The early twentieth century was marked by the First World War and the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, followed by the creation of independent Czechoslovakia in 1918. This period saw the emergence of some of the most internationally recognised figures in Czech literature.
Among them is Franz Kafka, a German-speaking Prague writer whose works (The Trial, The Castle, The Metamorphosis) are central to twentieth-century world literature. Other major authors include Ladislav Klíma (The Sufferings of Prince Sternenhoch), Karel Čapek, whose War with the Newts and other works anticipated many themes of modern science fiction, Vladislav Vančura (The Summer of Caprice, Marketa Lazarová), Ivan Olbracht (author of Nikola the Outlaw), Egon Hostovský (known for psychologically intense novels such as The Arsonist and The Hideout), and Jaroslav Hašek, whose satirical anti-war novel The Good Soldier Švejk is widely considered a Czech masterpiece.
Important poets of the twentieth century include Jaroslav Seifert, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1984.
War, Totalitarianism, and Dissent
The Second World War brought Nazi occupation and the persecution of political opponents, Jews, and other targeted groups. After the war, Czechoslovakia fell under Soviet influence and, from 1948, endured decades of Communist rule. These experiences profoundly shaped post-war Czech literature.
Many writers addressed themes such as life under Nazi occupation and Communist rule, censorship, political repression, and moral compromise under totalitarianism. Because of Communist censorship, numerous works circulated through underground publishing networks, notably Samizdat.
Several major post-war writers achieved both national and international recognition. Jiří Weil wrote powerful novels about the Holocaust and Nazi occupation, including Life with a Star and Mendelssohn Is on the Roof. Bohumil Hrabal, often considered one of the greatest Czech prose writers, is known for works such as Closely Observed Trains, I Served the King of England, and Too Loud a Solitude.
The human-rights movement Charter 77 (Charta 77) became a focal point for intellectual dissent during the late 1970s and 1980s. Key figures associated with it included the playwright Václav Havel (later President of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic), as well as writers such as Ludvík Vaculík (The Axe, The Guinea Pigs) and Pavel Kohout (The Widow Killer). Other notable dissident authors include Eva Kantůrková (My Companions in the Bleak House), Jiří Gruša (The Questionnaire), and Josef Škvorecký, whose works include The Cowards, The Miracle Game, and Miss Silver’s Past.
Other significant Czech authors include Ivan Klíma (Love and Garbage, Judge on Trial, My Crazy Century), Milan Kundera, whose The Unbearable Lightness of Being became an international bestseller, Ota Pavel (How I Came to Know Fish, Golden Eels), and Daniela Hodrová, author of the City of Torment trilogy (In Both Kinds or A Kingdom of Souls, Puppets, Theta), as well as Prague, I See a City.
Contemporary Czech Novelists
Contemporary Czech literature remains vibrant and diverse. Notable novelists include Patrik Ouředník (Europeana, Case Closed), Jáchym Topol (City Sister Silver, A Sensitive Person), Zuzana Brabcová (Ceilings), Petra Hůlová (All This Belongs to Me, Three Plastic Rooms), Jiří Kratochvil (The Vow), Michal Viewegh (Bringing Up Girls in Bohemia, Dodgeball), Kateřina Tučková (The Last Goddess, Gerta), Jiří Hájíček (Rustic Baroque), and Michal Ajvaz (Empty Streets), Tomáš Zmeškal (Love Letter in Cuneiform), and Libuše Moníková (Transfigured Night).
Needless to say, this overview is far from exhaustive.
International Books set in Czechia
Moreover, a number of international authors have chosen the Czech lands as the setting for their work. Notable examples include Roger Scruton (Notes from Underground), Laurent Binet (HHhH), Bruce Chatwin (Utz), Philip Roth (The Prague Orgy), John Banville (Kepler), Isaac Bashevis Singer (The Golem), Joseph Roth (The Radetzky March), and Adalbert Stifter (Witiko), among many others.
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