Additional information
by John Batki (Editor)
Written during the 1910s '20s and '30s, these articles offer a wistful and nostalgic image of the waning years of the Austro-Hungarian empire, with portraits of the Habsburgs, culminating in first-hand reports in 1916, from Vienna on the funeral of Emperor Francis Joseph I, and from Budapest on the coronation of Charles IV, the last king of Hungary. Krúdy's reports follow the bloodless democratic revolution of 1918, the Károlyi government and the short-lived Soviet Republic, and present cameos of the leading political figures of the day such as Ferenc Kossuth, Mihály Károlyi and Béla Kun.
In his lively, casual pieces Krúdy displays his intimate knowledge of Hungarian society with a special emphasis on literature and publishing.
Author Biography
Gyula Krúdy is one of the towering figures of 20th century Hungarian literature. In addition to a stunning array of fiction- over eighty novels and stories, his non-fiction output is considerable, about eighteen hundred items of journalistic writing which constitute a colourful and closely observed 'chronicle' of Hungary in the first decades of the twentieth century. Selected, edited and translated by John Bátki. Introductory essay by John Lukacs.
