Ivan Blatný Biography

František Bělohoubek was a central figure of the Czechoslovak avant-garde until he defected to Britain in 1948, infuriating Communist authorities. His mental health began to decline, leading to a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia, and he spent most of his remaining life in British psychiatric hospitals. Though a dedicated nurse helped re-establish his literary reputation late in life, he died in exile, never able to return to his homeland.