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Karel Čapek (; 9 January 1890 – 25 December 1938) was a Czech writer of the early 20th century. He had multiple roles throughout his career such as playwright, dramatist, essayist, publisher, literary reviewer, and art critic. Nonetheless, he is best known for his science fiction, including his novel ''War with the Newts'' and the play ''R.U.R.'', (''Rossum's Universal Robots'') which introduced the word ''robot''.〔Oxford English Dictionary: robot n2〕 Arthur Miller wrote in 1990: "I read Karel Čapek for the first time when I was a college student long Although primarily known for his work in science fiction, Čapek also wrote several politically charged works dealing with the social turmoil of his time. Having helped create the Czechoslovak PEN Club as a key part of the International PEN Club, he campaigned in favor of free expression and utterly despised the rise of fascism in Europe. Were it not for his untimely death (of natural causes) taking place as Nazi Germany began its takeover of Czechoslovakia, he would likely have been found and executed by the Gestapo. In the aftermath of World War II, his legacy as a literary figure has been well established.〔http://www.literarylondon.org/london-journal/september2010/misterova.html〕 == Life and career == Čapek was born in 1890 in the Bohemian mountain village of Malé Svatoňovice, to an overbearing, emotional mother and a distant yet adored father. He was the youngest of three siblings. Čapek would maintain a close relationship with his brother Josef, living and writing with him throughout his adult life. Čapek became enamored with the visual arts in his teenage years, especially Cubism. He studied in Prague at Charles University and at the Sorbonne in Paris. Exempted from military service due to the spinal problems that would haunt him his whole life, Čapek observed World War I from Prague. His political views were strongly affected by the war, and as a budding journalist he began to write on topics like nationalism, totalitarianism〔James Sallis, Review of '' Karel Capek: Life and Work'' by Ivan Klima. ''The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', (pp. 37–40).〕 and consumerism. Through social circles, the young writer developed close relationships with many of the political leaders of the nascent Czechoslovak state. This included Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk and his son Jan, who would later become foreign secretary. His early attempts at fiction were mostly plays written with brother Josef. Čapek's first international success was ''Rossum's Universal Robots'', a dystopian work about a bad day at a factory populated with sentient androids. The play was translated into English in 1922, and was being performed in the UK and America by 1923. Throughout the 1920s, Čapek worked in many writing genres, producing both fiction and non-fiction, but worked primarily as a journalist.〔 In the 1930s, Čapek's work focused on the threat of brutal national socialist and fascist dictatorships; by the mid-1930s, Čapek had become "an outspoken anti-fascist".〔 His most productive years were during the The First Republic of Czechoslovakia (1918–1938). He wrote ''Talks with T. G. Masaryk'' – Masaryk was a Czechoslovak patriot, the first President of Czechoslovakia, and a regular guest at Čapek's "Friday Men" garden parties for leading Czech intellectuals. Čapek was also a member of Masaryk's ''Hrad'' political network. This extraordinary relationship between the writer and the political leader may be unique. He also became a member of International PEN and established, and was first president of, the Czechoslovak Pen Club.〔Derek Sayer, ''The Coasts of Bohemia: A Czech History''. Princeton University Press, 2000 ISBN 069105052X, (p.22-3).〕 Soon after 1938 it became clear that the Western allies (France, Great Britain) had failed to fulfill the agreements (see Western betrayal), and failed to defend Czechoslovakia against Adolf Hitler. Karel Čapek refused to leave his country – despite the fact that the Nazi Gestapo had named him Czechoslovakia's "public enemy number two". Although he suffered all his life from the condition spondyloarthritis, Karel Čapek died of double pneumonia, on 25 December 1938, shortly after part of Czechoslovakia was annexed by Nazi Germany following the so-called Munich Agreement. Čapek is buried at the Vyšehrad cemetery in Prague. His brother Josef Čapek, a painter and writer, died in the Nazi Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.〔"...his brother and artistic collaborator Josef met his death in Bergen-Belsen." Adam Roberts, "Introduction", to ''RUR & War with the Newts''. London, Gollancz, 2011, ISBN 0575099453 (p.vi).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Karel Čapek」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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