The Grandmother is an entirely unsentimental portrayal by Vienna-born Czech author Božena Němcová (1820–1862) of both the rural customs and folklore of Bohemia and the people who shaped her childhood in the Aupa valley, nestled at the foot of the Giant Mountains, such as priests, teachers, housemaids, farmhands, millers and foresters. But at the heart of it all is Grandma, whose simple wisdom, goodness and love personify the ideal of maternal care.