Vzývání temnot – Lešehrad Emanuel, Boček Petr (2026)

This extensive original collection of short stories and poems by Emanuel Lešehrad brings together the most compelling works from his prose and poetry, centered on the celebrated collection Staircase of Illusions. Emanuel Lešehrad (1877–1955) is often mentioned in connection with the evolution of Czech dark fantasy and horror, although few people have read his work. The collection introduces a succession of mysterious characters, including occultists, globetrotters, femmes fatales, demonic men, scientists, researchers and writers. Most of the stories take place in Prague, but the well-traveled author also leads readers to Dubrovnik, Granada and Venice, as well as Iceland and the Sunda Islands. The eighteen mysterious stories explore people whose actions cross an ordinary boundary for various reasons, often with tragic consequences. They are interspersed with twenty-three poems in the spirit of symbolism and decadence, which made Lešehrad famous in his time, perhaps even more so than his mysterious prose. The book also includes an extensive afterword by editor Petr Boček on Emanuel Lešehrad’s life and work, along with selections by two other members of the prolific Lešetický family: his uncle Vojtěch and his cousin Jaroslav.