Spindle of Fate

Who isn't familiar with the mysterious, eerie ballads from the legendary collection Kytice (A Bouquet of Czech Folktales)? But what do we really know about the life of its author, Karel Jaromír Erben? Few realise that beneath the mask of a serious, quiet man was a passionate romantic who recorded his terrifying dreams in his diaries, lived in the shadow of death, spoke with the ghost of his dead twin brother, suffered through problematic relationships with women, and concealed the dreadful secret of Záhoř's bed.

Experienced novelist Otomar Dvořák has lifted the curtain on the difficult life of the creator who had to wage a dramatic battle against the cruelty of fate to save the world of old Slavic myths, rituals, superstitions, songs, and fairy tales for future generations. In this fictionalised story, we walk alongside Erben through the turbulent events of the mid-nineteenth century, meeting prominent figures of the era (Macha, Palacký, Havlíček Borovský, Tyl, Němcová, Frič, Šafařík, Bach, Sacher-Masoch, and others). At the same time, we journey through a ballad-like landscape where a pale moon shines, treasures are revealed in the rocks, a water goblin lays his treacherous nets, and a dead lover knocks on the window behind which his beloved is praying…

The spindle of fate turns, and the dark Fate Morjana whispers to Erben from the darkness: “You are forfeit to death! What will you offer to redeem yourself, to deserve life?”