Ioan Slavici: Novelist, Journalist and… Businessman
Ioan Slavici is generally recognized as an insightful novelist and an important journalist. His activity as businessman, however, is less known. Slavici was among the first people who promoted a spa resort in Romania. Even though he did not possess enough funds to finalize his investment in Buşteni and had to sell the business, his background in economics is vast and can clearly be recognized in his writings. Far from being concerned solely with the description of rural life, Slavici showed interest in the lives and work of craftsmen, who often appear as literary characters in his novels and novellas.
Moreover, in his work as journalist, Slavici was specialized in analyzing economic and financial aspects of contemporary life, writing for over 50 years about issues such as the national budget, loans and interest rates, as well as using his knowledge as a former law practitioner.
Keywords: Slavici, Mara, Vighi, business, gain, crisis, Şaguna
1. Cornel Ungureanu, Geografia literară, Editura Universităţii de Vest, Timişoara, 2002, p. 59.
2. Lucian-Vasile Szabo, Un alt Slavici. O geografie publicistică după gratii, Editura Universităţii de Vest, Timişoara, 2012, p. 206.
3. Dimitrie Vatamaniuc, Ioan Slavici şi lumea prin care a trecut, Editura Academiei, Bucureşti, 1968, p. 445.
4. Onoarea şi onorariul, Editura Cartea românească, Bucureşti, 2007, p. 22.
5. Idem, p.8.
6. Cornel Ungureanu, Istoria secretă a literaturii române, Editura Aula, Braşov, 2007, p. 79.
7. În Şerban Cioculescu, Vladimir Streinu, Tudor Vianu, Istoria literaturii române moderne, Editura Eminescu, Bucureşti, 1985, p. 255.
8. Ioan Slavici, Amintiri, Închisorile mele, Lumea prin care am trecut, Editura Albatros, Bucureşti, 1998, p. 346.
9. Idem, p. 403.
10. Tribuna, I, nr. 177, 21 noiembrie (3 decembrie) 1884.
11. Daniel Vighi, op. cit., pp. 25-26.
12. Mizerii, Apărarea naţională, III, nr 109, 1 (14) decembrie 1902.
13. Nicolae Manolescu, Arca lui Noe. Eseu despre romanul românesc, vol. I, Editura Minerva, Bucureşti, 1980, p. 148.
14. Minerva, II, nr. 400, 26 ianuarie (8 februarie) 1910.
