Géza Gárdonyi, born Géza Ziegler (3 August 1863 – 30 October 1922) was a Hungarian writer and journalist. Although he wrote a range of works, he had his greatest success as a

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

ist, particularly with '' Eclipse of the Crescent Moon'' and '' Slave of the Huns''.

Life

Gárdonyi was born in Agárdpuszta,

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

, the son of a machinist on the estate of an aristocrat in Western Hungary. He graduated from at a college for teachers and worked for some years as a teacher and

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

. 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" letters 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 A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

Best known work

The Stars of Eger or ''Eclipse of the Crescent Moon''

Gárdonyi's most famous novel ''Egri csillagok'' was published in 1899. The title translates literally as ''Stars of

Eger Eger ( , ; ; also known by other #Names and etymology, alternative names) is the county seat of Heves County, and the second largest city in Northern Hungary (after Miskolc). A city with county rights, Eger is best known for Castle of Eger, its ...

'', but it has been published in English as ''Eclipse of the Crescent Moon'' and as ''The Stars of Eger'' (by T. László Palotás, 2022, ISBN 979-8829947033). It is set around a famous siege of the town of Eger in Hungary by the

Ottomans Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empir ...

in the year 1552. In 2005 this book was voted "the most popular novel of Hungary" by viewers of the television programme ''

Big Read The Big Read was a survey on books that was carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, when over three-quarters of a million votes were received from the British public to find the nation's best-loved novel. The year-long survey was th ...

'' (''A Nagy Könyv'').

''Slave of the Huns''

In the opinion of some people, his best work was ''A láthatatlan ember'', published in 1901. The title translates literally as ''The Invisible Man'', but it was published in English as ''Slave of the

Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th centuries AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was par ...

'' and as ''Hidden among the Huns'' (by T. László Palotás, 2022, ISBN 979-8829978860). It is set around the time of

Attila the Hun Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central and East ...

. 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 / Hidden among the Huns) *''Isten rabjai'' (Captives of God) *''A lámpás'' (The Lamp) *'' A bor'' (The Wine) *''Ida regénye'' (Ida's Novel, ''adapted to the film'' Romance of Ida) *''Hosszúhajú veszedelem'' (The Menace with Long Hair) *''Az én falum'' (My Village) *''Az égre néző lélek'' (Spirit, Looking at the Sky) *''Állatmesék'' (Animal Tales)

External links