Géza Gárdonyi

Géza Gárdonyi, born Géza Ziegler (Agárdpuszta, Austria-Hungary, August 3 1863 – Eger, Hungary, October 30 1922) was a Hungarian writer and journalist. Although he wrote a wide range of works, he had his greatest success as a historical novelist, particularly with Egri csillagok and A láthatatlan ember.

Life

Gárdonyi was the son of a machinist on the estate of an aristocrat in Western Hungary. He graduated at a college for teachers and worked for some years as a teacher and Catholic cantor. He married Mária Molnár in 1885, but their marriage was unhappy and they separated in 1892.

Gárdonyi's career as a writer started off when he began writing for magazines and newspapers in the mid-1880s. His first successes were the satirical "Göre Gábor" novellas on rural life, works which he later repudiated. Around the turn of the century, he started to tackle historical themes in writing, which resulted in a series of fine novels.

He moved to Eger (today's northern Hungary) in 1897 with his mother and lived there until his death. He is also buried there, with his tomb bearing the inscription Csak a teste (Only his body). The house where he lived and did most of his writing is now preserved as a museum (see Links).

Best known work

Egri csillagok

Gárdonyi's most famous novel Egri csillagok was published in 1899. The title translates literally as Stars of Eger, which has sometimes been used in English, but it was usually published as Eclipse of the Crescent Moon. It is set around a famous siege of the town of Eger in Hungary by the Ottomans in the year 1552. In 2005 this book was voted "the most popular novel of Hungary" by viewers of the television programme A Nagy Könyv.

A láthatatlan ember

In the opinion of some people, including Gárdonyi himself, his best work was A láthatatlan ember, published in 1901. It may also be more accessible to non-Hungarian readers. The title translates literally as The Invisible Man, but it was published in English as Slave of the Huns (probably to differentiate it from H. G. Wells' novel). It is set around the time of Attila the Hun, and large parts of it are based on the Byzantine diplomat Priscus' account of his visit to Attila's court. The hero of the novel is a young Byzantine slave named Zeta who falls in love with a Hun lady and commits himself to slavery among the Huns in the hope of eventually marrying her. It includes a dramatic description of the Battle of Catalaunum between the Huns and the Romans.

Although these two novels are very well known in Hungary, translations into English and other European languages only became widely published in the late 20th century.

Works

• Egri csillagok (Stars of Eger/Eclipse of the Crescent Moon)
• A láthatatlan ember (The Invisible Man/Slave of the Huns)
• Isten rabjai (Prisoners of God)
• A lámpás (The Lamp)
• A bor (The Wine)
• Ida regénye (Ida's Novel)
• Hosszúhajú veszedelem (The Menace with Long Hair)

See also

• List of Hungarian writers
• Siege of Eger
• Attila the Hun

External links

• Article on Hungarian writers which mentions him
• Amazon review of Slave of the Huns
• Géza Gárdonyi Historical Museum