Faustův deník – Veselý Josef (2013)

This book is the author's attempt at a literary treatment of the Faustian theme. He believes that every hermetic should somehow come to terms with this great topic. The form of the drama in which he dressed his thoughts is his homage to Johann Wolfgang Goethe and Christopher Marlowe, but also to the anonymous authors of folk puppet plays, and last but not least to Jan Švankmajer, who did the same before him. The story takes place in Germany from 1517 to about 1541. The author drew mainly from the Faustian legend as presented in Spiess's History, and from authentic accounts of Faust's life collected by the leading German expert on Faust's life, Günther Mahal. The author is, to his knowledge, the only one who has reflected literarily on Faust's stay and end in Staufen, documented by two independent contemporary sources. The play also features echoes of the historical and political conditions in which Faust lived (the discovery of America, the Reformation, the Peasants' War), which motifs have mostly been overlooked by other authors. In writing, he also took into account various Faustian psalters and his personal magical experiences. The work as a whole is, of course, an author's license.