Two writers who died recently, and whose influence on the Bohemian literature of the present day is great, are Neruda and Zeyer. As is frequently the case with Bohemian writers, these authors cultivated several branches of literature. Jon Neruda was born in the Prague Malá Strana (the part of the city which is situated on the left bank of the Vltava river) in 1834. His books, both in prose and in verse, are very numerous. Of his poems, the _Písně Kosmické_ ("Cosmic Poems"), which are the result of deep philosophic thought, had a great success when they appeared in 1878. Some critics, however, assert that the book is somewhat obscure. Of Neruda's many prose works, some of which first appeared as _feuilletons_ in the _Narodni Listz_, the foremost Bohemian newspaper, the best are the _Malostranské povídky_ ("Tales of the Malá Strana"). Neruda died in 1891. Julius Zeyer (1841-1901) was certainly one of the most prominent writers of the period of the literary revival in Bohemia. Though he did not begin writing in early life, he was, like most of the writers of his time, the author of numerous works both in prose and in verse. His first book, _Ondry Cernyšev_, a historical novel, the scene of which is laid in Russia at the time of the Empress Catherine II., appeared in 1875. Zeyer lived a considerable time in Russia, and also frequently visited Italy. Next to his own Bohemia, these two countries influenced him most. In perhaps the best of his many novels, _Jan Maria Ployhar_, the scene is laid in Italy. Of Zeyer's poetical works, the best is his _Vyšehrad_, a cycle of epic poems which deal with the legendary period of Libusa and Premysl. It is undoubtedly one of the most valuable fruits of modern Bohemian poetry.[165] Zeyer also attempted, though not very successfully, to write for the stage and he is also the author of a biography of the Bohemian patriot, Vojta Naprstek, with whom and with whose family he was on terms of friendship.