On its initial publication in Czech in 1942, Saturnin was a best seller, its gentle satire offering an unexpected--if temporary--reprieve from the grim reality of the German occupation.
In the years since, the novel has been hailed as a classic of Czech literature, and this translation makes it available to English-language readers for the first time--which is entirely appropriate, for author Zdeněk Jirotka clearly modeled his light comedy on the English masters Jerome K.
Jerom.
