The Chattertooth Eleven

In 1922, the same year that saw the establishment of the Czechoslovak Football Association, a former singer and cabaret director from Prague published a novel about soccer. Eighty-six years later, that novel, Eduard Bass's The Chattertooth Eleven, has been reprinted more than thirty times, has been made into a film, and has become one of the most popular works of Czech fiction.

The novel tells the extraordinary adventures of an ordinary father, Chattertooth, and his eleven sons--whom he has raised as an unbeatable soccer team. This humorous tale--set in the aftermath of World War I--celebrates fair play and perseverance while simultaneously taking a gently ironic stance towards the Czech infatuation with soccer. This edition, in a new graphic layout by Zdenek Ziegler, is accompanied by charming illustrations by Jiri Grus.