| Ksaver Šandor Gjalski | |
| Birth Name: | Ljubomil Tito Josip Franjo Babić |
| Birth Date: | 26 October 1854 |
| Birth Place: | Gredice, Kingdom of Croatia, Austrian Empire ) |
| Death Place: | Gredice, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes |
| Occupation: | novelist, civil servant |
| Language: | Croatian |
| Notablework: | Under Old Roofs |
| Spouse: | Vilma Gönner |
Ljubomil Tito Josip Franjo Babić, better known by his pen name Ksaver Šandor Gjalski, (also cited as Đalski, both in Croatian pronounced as /d͡ʑǎlskiː/; 26 October 1854 – 6 February 1935)[1] was a Croatian novelist and civil servant.[2]
He was born in Gredice near Klanjec in Hrvatsko Zagorje[3] into a minor aristocratic family. His father Tito was a feudal lord and lawyer who served as a representative in Sabor and was a strong supporter of the Croatian national revival. His mother Helena was the daughter of Franjo Ksaver Šandor Gjalski, also a feudal lord and lawyer, from whom Ljubomil took his pen name in 1884. His mother was also a relative of the Croatian poet Antun Mihanović.[1] He finished gymnasium in Varaždin in 1871 and went on to study law in Zagreb between 1871 and 1873 before finishing his studies in Vienna[3] in 1876, before finally passing the national exam in 1878.[1] In 1880, he moved to Virovitica, where he met his future wife, Vilma Gönner, a teacher at the local girls' school.[1] He served the royal government in Zagreb between 1891 and 1898, but, due to disagreements with the Khuen government, returned to Grenice.[1]
Gjalski, however, remained involved in politics. In 1906, he was elected into the Sabor, aligning himself with the Croat-Serb Coalition. From 1917 to 1918, he held the post of župan of the Zagreb County.[2] Between 1919 and 1920, he served as a member of the Provisional National Representation in the newly formed Kingdom of Yugoslavia in Belgrade, retiring at the end of 1920.[1] He served twice as the president of the Croatian Writers' Association (1909-1918, 1926)[1]
Gjalski wrote many novels, but his best known work is Under Old Roofs (Croatian: Pod starim krovovima), a collection of short stories in which he described the economic decline of the Croatian aristocracy.[2] His writings were heavily inspired by Turgenev and Šenoa, as well as realism and romanticism in general.[2]