In the prime of youth

The audiobook In Our Youth, written by Robert Merle, translated by Miroslav Drápal. Read by Zbyšek Horák, directed by Jakub Tabery. Fortunes of France #2 The second part of the historical saga set during the turbulent times of 16th and 17th century French history. The continuing story of the second-born country nobleman and physician in the king's service, Pierre de Siorac. The stylised, archaically-tinged narrative, inspired by the style of contemporary chronicles or memoirs, is full of adventure, suspense and humour. ROBERT MERLE Robert Merle (* 28 August 1908, Tébessa, Algeria – † 27 March 2004, Grosrouvre, Yvelines, France) was a French novelist, playwright, literary historian, translator, and professor of English and American literature. He became famous for, among other things, the utopian sci-fi novel Malevil and the thirteen-part historical saga published in Czech under the title Dědictví otců (Fortunes of France). Some of his novels (e.g., Weekend at Zuydcoote, Malevil, The Day of the Dolphin) have also been successfully adapted into films. Robert Merle was born in Algeria to an army officer. In 1918, his family moved to Paris. There, he studied English, philosophy, and literary studies. During the war, Robert Merle was captured at the Battle of Dunkirk and spent three years as a German prisoner of war. After the war, he worked as a professor of English and American literature. He then devoted himself mainly to his literary work. ZBYŠEK HORÁK A Czech presenter and voice actor. He worked for many years at Czech Radio, Czech Television, and TV Nova. You may know him from your television screen as the voice of Jeremy Clarkson, one of the three presenters of the popular motoring show Top Gear. His voiceovers for the travel show Toulavá kamera are also well known. He currently works primarily in dubbing. He has also recently started narrating audiobooks. For Audiotéka, he has provided excellent narrations of, among others, the entire works of Cixin Liu to date.