Born in Male Svatonovice, Bohemia (later part of Czechoslovakia), the Capek brothers were the sons of Antonm Capek, the village doctor, and his wife, Bozena Capekova, an intellectual. Josef Capek was born in 1887, and his brother Karel followed on January 9,1890, nearly three years later. The brothers were extremely close as children. Karel was always sickly; Josef was a strong influence and his brother's protector. Karel would be ill most of his life.

While Karel was attending boarding school, the family moved to Prague in 1907. Karel joined them there to finish high school. Despite his family's protests, Josef entered art school. The brothers began writing stories for newspapers together, especially after Karel entered Charles University in 1909. There, he studied art history, aesthetics, and philosophy, and earned his doctorate in 1915. During this time, both brothers spent some time abroad: Karel studied at universities in Paris and Berlin while...