George Calinescu is regarded as one of the foremost Romanian literary critics, essayists, and novelists of the twentieth century. Published almost weekly in literary magazines for more than thirty years and the author of more than thirty volumes, Calinescu was one of the most versatile and influential figures in the history of Romanian culture.

Born on 19 June 1899 in Bucharest, Romania, to Maria Marin Visa(n) and Tache Capitanescu, George Calinescu had unpleasant recollections about his solitary childhood. His father was the descendant of a Greek family that had come to Valachia from Fanar (the Greek neighborhood of Istanbul) toward the end of the eighteenth century, but the family's early affluence had slowly deteriorated over the years to the point where Calinescu's parents had to conceal their dependency. Only in 1918, however, did Calinescu learn that Tache, who had committed suicide more than a year earlier, was his father. To...