Jaroslav Foglar (6 July 1907 in Prague - 23 January 1999) was a famous Czech author who wrote many novels about youths (partly also about Boy Scouts movement) and their adventures in nature and dark city streets.
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Foglar was born and grew up in Prague, capital of Bohemia. Because his father died prematurely he was brought up in rather poor material conditions by his mother. He was strongly influenced by romantic parts of Prague. All of the fictional towns in his novels are more or less derived from Prague. During the 1920s, Foglar was strongly influenced by German independent Wandervogel movement as well as Scout movement led by Antonín Benjamin Svojsík under Czech name Junák.
During 1930s and 1940s, Foglar worked as a magazine editor in one of the largest Prague publishing houses, Melantrich. He edited several journals for youths:
and he wrote articles for even more journals including the Skaut, Sluníčko, ABC, and the Tramp.
After Communist coup in 1948 Foglar was kicked out of publishing house, his magazines were liquidated and his books prohibited, as was the Scout movement and independent youth clubs. For many years he worked as tutor in youth internate schools and homes. During the fall of censorship at the end of 1960s, he published some new books and the re-editions of the olders. After Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia his books were newly banned until 1989.
Foglar lived with his mother caring for her until her death in high age and never married.
However Foglar worked as Scout leader, his relation to the Scout movement was not simple. He basically pictured the boy scouts only in few of his novels (especially Pod junackou vlajkou a Devadesatka pokracuje), preferring to write mostly about his own invention, the boy clubs. Foglar's idea of independent boy clubs is basically derived from German Wandervogel movement. As editor of Mlady Hlasatel, Foglar systematically build clubbist ideology (based on friendship, good deeds, personal sacrifice, love to the nature, etc.) on some and traditions and own terminology. Clubs were small groups between 4 and 8 youths. Some of them were informally led by young men few years older than other youths, like Rikitan in novel Hosi od Bobri reky or by best of the youths - like 'exemplary youth' Mirek Dusin of Rychle Sipy Club. Having Foglar's novels and his magazine articles as a pattern, many Czech youths established such a clubs. At its high tide, there were many thousand of such independent clubs, which were basically kind of Wandervogel concurrence towards the organized Scout movement. On the other hand, when Scouts were persecuted and forbidden during the German occupation between 1938 and 1945 and during Communism between 1948 and 1989 (with short exception of renewal of Scout during 1968 and 1969), boy clubs posed excellent informal alternative of youth life based on ideas similar to those of Scouts.
One of the key motives of Foglar's novels is the tension between the loneliness and close friendship between young male heroes. These are especially distinctive in novels 'Přístav volá', 'Kdyz duben přichází', 'Chata v Jezerní kotlině', 'Modra rokle' and 'Tajemna Rasnovka'. These novels are also non-scout ones, picturing independent life of youths. On the other hand, in second large group of his novels, a 'group hero' novels, the plot is based on stories of some organized group of youths, with less individual psychology and more action and adventures. The heroes are boy scouts or independent clubbists.
Some critics argued that Foglar's novels are crammed with covered homosexual desire and that the author himself was gay. Firstly, as an author, Foglar was strongly influenced by German Wandervogel romantism more than the ideas of British scout movement (which emerged in Bohemian Lands during the WWI). Wandervogel movement itself had some elements of male eroticism. It can be admitted that most of the Foglar's novels are including the leading motive of lonely youth, motive of close friendship of two youths, with some exceptions in relation to the 'group-hero' novels like 'Rychle Sipy' Club and 'Devadesatka'. Foglar novels are picturing almost exclusively male world with generally no women (with few exceptions of marginal women persons - like old grannys or small girls, often without names). Idea that Foglar was gay is quite ahistorical one. Foglar, being a very traditional writer in his style and traditionalist person in his lifestyle, was not interested in any modern ideas and was far from regarding himself to be a gay.
Karel Sýs wrote about him on the back-cover of his book Chata v Jezerní kotlině: "I think, that both meaning and effect of his work lies in moral purity based upon author's experience. Foglar raises reliance of children and young people. On pages of his novels there are happening miracles of friendship, nature is painted in its virgin purity, city streets are surrounded by secrets -- and it's possible to believe it all because it was imagined by a pure heart."
'Excellent books on male friendship, nature, ethically pure life and firm values of resistance towards the injustice, of solidarity and trust.' David Stein
While they may be considered ideological, his stories are not mere fables, but are based upon his long-term work with boys and young men on summer camps and in club-rooms.
Note: the list is probably incomplete.
Foglar is also the author of a comics serial called Rychlé šípy ("Rapid Arrows"), very successful among young readers.