Karolína Světlá (1830–1899)

Karolina Světlá was the pen name of Johanna Rottová, born in Prague, on a street that now bears her name. Her parents were wealthy, German-speaking, and very religious. She learned to speak French and Czech as well as German, and studied music with Petr Mužák. They fell in love and married in 1852. He introduced her to Czech society and patriots, and she became a friend of writers Božena Němcová and Jan Nepomuk Neruda, and composer Bedřich Smetana. She struggled with problems such as mental illness and the death of her only daughter as a baby. She worked as a journalist, and also wrote novels and short stories. Many of her works are set in the hills of rural northern Bohemia, where she spent summers with her husband. Smetana adapted one of her short stories, "Hubicka," into an opera. She was also deeply committed to the emancipation of women, and started a group to raise the status of working women and girls.