Jolán Földes (Yolanda Foldes or Yolanda Clarent) (20 December 1902,

Kenderes Kenderes () is a small town in Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok county, Hungary. It is notable as the birthplace of Miklós Horthy, Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1920 to 1944, and for the many memorials dedicated to him around the town. A major t ...

– October 1963, London) was a Hungarian author. Her most famous novel is the ''Street of the Fishing Cat''.

Biography

Jolán Földes graduated in Budapest (1921) and went to Paris, where she worked as a workerwoman and clerk. Her first novel, ''Mária jól érett'' (1932), was a literary success in Hungary and awarded with Mikszáth Prize. Her comedy ''Majd a Vica'' (1935), written together with Pál Vajda, was presented by the prestigious New Theater. Her novel ''A halászó macska utcája'' tells the difficult life of a family of working class Hungarian emigrants in Paris after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. It won the 1936 All-nations Prize Novel Competition of the Pinter Publishing Ltd (London). The title refers to the name of the narrowest street in Paris,

Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche Rue du Chat-qui-Pêche is considered the narrowest street in Paris. It is only wide for the whole of its length. It is in the 5th arrondissement, on the Rive Gauche of the Seine, and runs from Quai Saint-Michel to Rue de la Huchette, Hist ...

(Street of the Fishing Cat). The novel was translated to 12 European languages. Among her books are ''Prelude to Love'', ''Shadows on the Mirror'' and ''Férjhez megyek'' (''I'm Getting Married'', 1935), ''Ági nem emlékszik semmire'' (1933), ''Péter nem veszti el a fejét'' (1937), ''Fej vagy írás'' (1937), ''Más világrész'' (1937). In 1941, Földes emigrated to London and her later works were written in English. ''Interlude'', first published in England under the title ''Heads or Tails'' (originally ''Fej vagy írás''), is set in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

at the time of the Spanish Revolution. ''Golden Earrings'' was made into a film of the same name in 1947,"Golden Earrings (1947)"
IMDb. starring

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

and

Ray Milland Ray Milland (born Alfred Reginald Jones; 3 January 1907 – 10 March 1986) was a Welsh-American actor and film director. His screen career ran from 1929 to 1985. He is remembered for his Academy Award and Cannes Film Festival Award-winning ...

. The novel, originally written in English, was translated to Hungarian in 1946 under the title ''Aranyfülbevaló''. Földes was a popular author of the interwar era. Her novels are entertaining but she is considered a light-weight author by literary critics. Only the ''Street of the Fishing Cat'' is appreciated as an important literary achievement. The novel was republished in Hungary in 1989.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foldes, Jolan 1902 births 1963 deaths People from Kenderes 20th-century Hungarian writers 20th-century Hungarian women writers Hungarian women novelists