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Much has been written about Prague as a literary city, as a place that has spurred the imagination of writers. Usually the focus is on the myths of “Magic Prague” from the more distant past, but we tend to hear less about how the city has changed in the literary imagination in more recent years. Lucy Duggan is a young academic and writer from Oxford University and she has decided to focus her research on Prague as seen through the eyes of contemporary Czech writers. Prague is also the setting of her own novel, “Tendrils” published in 2014. In this

Ever since the publication of the first Czech translation of Longfellow’s Hiawatha in the 1860s, Czechs have had a special affection for the American West. This was always more than just a fantasy about the space and freedom of the open plains; for many Czechs, after centuries under Austrian rule, there was also a somewhat romanticized sense of identity with the fate of Native Americans at the hands of white settlers. So it is not surprising that when scouting gained popularity at the time of the First Czechoslovak Republic, it took on many symbols

In the spring of 1945, just before he ended his six-year exile in Britain, President Edvard Beneš gave an address in English that was broadcast by the BBC. The fight to liberate Czechoslovakia was still under way, but by now it was clear that the war was drawing to a close and Beneš was already looking towards the post-war future of his country. A recording of the historic speech was recently rediscovered in the Czech Foreign Ministry, and is one of a number of archive broadcasts that David Vaughan has been studying with his students from the Anglo-American

Any list of the top five Czech novels since the fall of communism should include The Sound of the Sundial by Hana Andronikova. This epic love story takes us from pre-war Czechoslovakia to India and then back into the maelstrom of Europe during World War Two, as the young Czech-German engineer Thomas and his Jewish wife Rachel are swept on the tide of twentieth century history. Now for the first time this powerful and moving novel is available in English translation. David Vaughan spoke to Rachel Feingold, who edited and adapted the book for publication

One of the early atrocities of World War Two was the violent suppression of protests by Czech university students on 28 October 1939. This was just over six months after German troops had marched into Prague. One student was killed and three weeks later a further nine were executed. Twelve hundred more were sent to concentration camps. The news caused outrage in countries fighting Nazi Germany and 17 November was declared International Students’ Day. With the help of staff from the Czech Radio archive, David Vaughan and students from the Anglo-American

Jana Kotaishová grew up in the countryside of Southern Moravia, but when she married a Palestinian refugee over three decades ago, she embarked on a life that was far removed from the security and continuity of rural life in the Czech Republic. She has written a remarkable book, telling the story of her own life and of the lives of three generations of her husband’s family, drawing directly from their own memories. David Vaughan talked to her about the book.

There are some novels that take us on a journey to a place, either real or imagined; others take us into the world of the mind. Every now and then a novelist manages to do both. Such is the case with Daniela Hodrová and her novel “Podobojí’ which has just been translated into English for the first time under the title “Kingdom of Souls”. It is also a brilliant book to read if you are visiting Prague, as we recognize a city that is intensely physical but at the same time shifting in time and space, in imagination and memory. David Vaughan finds out

Hello and welcome to Czech Books. I am Dominik Jůn, and my guest today in the studio is Dana Kalinová, the managing director of Book World (Svět knihy), and also the Prague International Book Fair and Literary Festival (or Prague Book Fair). Book World was founded in 1997 by the Association of Czech Booksellers and Publishers. Along with the fair, it was set up to promote publishing efforts, Czech books, and to help foreign publishers seeking to publish in the Czech Republic. Thank you for joining us, Dana – explain to us the role of the Prague

A few years ago several boxes of wartime radio recordings from London were found lying forgotten in an attic at the Czech Foreign ministry. Some are in English and some in Czech, many of them are broadcasts produced by the BBC, others by the Czechoslovak government in exile as part of the fight against Nazi Germany on the airwaves. Radio archivists are gradually working through the material and already some fascinating recordings have turned up. They include a completely forgotten radio play by František Langer who was one of the best known playwrights

Fifty years ago, on 1 May 1965, annual student festivities in Prague to mark the joys of spring culminated in the American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg being declared “Král majálesu” – the King of May. A week later, Ginsberg’s visit to Czechoslovakia was cut short when the authorities labelled him an “immoral menace” and put him on a plane to London. But the Czech affection for the writings of the Beat Generation remains to this day. David Vaughan looks at some of the American writers that have captured the Czech imagination in the decades since World