Já, Mattoni - Legenda o prodavači vody – Zikmund Petr (2016)

A book for the upcoming historical series by Czech Television about Heinrich Mattoni, the founder of the world-famous mineral water bottling company. Heinrich Mattoni achieved the unimaginable in his time – thanks to an almost foolish desire for success, passionate ambition, and a genius, albeit rather intuitive, business spirit, he rose from a small poor clerk to a large entrepreneur whose name is still spoken by at least half of Europe. However, the book is not a description of business in the second half of the 19th century. It is not a biography of an early capitalist and a charismatic firebrand in one person, although it contains real elements from the lives of actual figures. It is a saga about dramatic family twists in a dramatic time of the twilight of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the rise of a new order. It is a legend of inner strength and boundless courage, but also about chance and luck, and especially about relationships, in which it often holds true that from love, there can be just a step to hatred. Heinrich Mattoni encountered many fraudsters, obstacles, and competitors in his life. However, his greatest life opponent and partner was his wife Mína, a very proud and progressive woman for her time. It took one impulsive and thoughtless act for the marriage to turn into a lifelong...