Delavrancea, Barbu

(pseudonym of Barbu Ştefānescu). Born Apr. 5, 1858, in Bucharest; died Apr. 29, 1918, in Iaşi. Rumanian writer and playwright; deputy and minister and a prominent spokesman for critical realism.

Delavrancea’s collections of stories Sultănică (1885) and The Parasites (1893) show the hard life of the peasant, the obtuseness and complacency of the petite bourgeoisie and officialdom, and the demoralizing power of money. In the historical dramatic trilogy The Sunset (1909), The Blizzard (1910), and The Star (1911), he juxtaposed the militant past of the people and the heartless society of those in power.