Magda Szabó (October 5, 1917 – November 19, 2007) was a Hungarian novelist. Doctor of philology, she also wrote

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

essay An essay is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a letter, a paper, an article, a pamphlet, and a short story. Essays have been sub-classified as formal a ...

s, studies,

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...

s, poetry and children's literature. She was a founding member of the , an online digital repository of Hungarian literature. She is the most translated Hungarian author, with publications in 42 countries and over 30 languages.

Early life

Magda Szabó was born in

Debrecen Debrecen ( , is Hungary's second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the largest Hungarian city in the 18th century and i ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

in 1917. Her father was an academic and taught her English and Latin. In 1940, she graduated from the

University of Debrecen ThUniversity of Debrecen( hu, Debreceni Egyetem) is a university located in Debrecen, Hungary. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest continuously operating institution of higher education in Hungary ever since its ...

as a teacher of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and of Hungarian. She began teaching in the same year at the

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Girls Boarding School in Debrecen and

Hódmezővásárhely Hódmezővásárhely (; also known by other alternative names) is a city with county rights in southeast Hungary, on the Great Hungarian Plain, at the meeting point of the Békés-Csanádi Ridge and the clay grassland surrounding the river Tisza. ...

. From 1945 to 1949, she worked in the Ministry of Religion and Education. She married the writer and translator Tibor Szobotka (1913–1982) in 1947.

Writing career

Szabó began her writing career as a poet and in 1947 she published her first book of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

, ''Bárány'' ("Lamb"), which was followed by ''Vissza az emberig'' ("Back to the Human") in 1949. In 1949 she was awarded the

Baumgarten Prize The Baumgarten Prize was founded by Ferenc Ferdinánd Baumgarten on October 17, 1923. It was awarded every year from 1929 to 1949 (except for 1945). In its time, it was the most prestigious literary prize awarded by Hungary and is considered as equ ...

, which was immediately withdrawn when Szabó was labeled an enemy to the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

. She was dismissed from the Ministry in the same year. The

Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...

era from 1949 to 1956 censored any literature, such as Szabó's work, that did not conform to

socialist realism Socialist realism is a style of idealized realistic art that was developed in the Soviet Union and was the official style in that country between 1932 and 1988, as well as in other socialist countries after World War II. Socialist realism is ch ...

. Since her husband was also censored by the communist regime, she was forced to teach in a

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

girls' school until 1959. She wrote her first

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

, ''Freskó'' ("Fresco") during these years, and it was published in 1958. The novel tells the story of a puritan family coming together for a funeral, and examines questions of hypocrisy and

Hungarian history Hungary in its modern (post-1946) borders roughly corresponds to the Great Hungarian Plain (the Pannonian Basin). During the Iron Age, it was located at the crossroads between the cultural spheres of the Celtic tribes (such as the Scordisci, Boii ...

. In the same year, she published another book of poetry, ''Bárány Boldizsár'' ("Lawrence the Lamb"), and a novel for younger female readers, ''Mondják meg Zsófikának'' (translated into English as "Tell Sally ..."). ''Az őz'' ("The Fawn"), published in 1959, is a novel centered around an actress and her struggle to overcome a difficult, impoverished childhood. In this novel, Szabó effectively portrays the psychological, internal world of the modern woman. In 1961 and 1962, Szabó published two more novels for young women, ''Álarcosbál'' ("Masked Ball") and ''Születésnap'' ("Birthday") respectively. ''Pilátus'' ("Iza's Ballad"), the story of a female doctor and her relationship with her mother, was published in 1963. ''Tündér Lala'' ("Lara the Fairy"), her 1965 novel, is one of the most popular novels for children written in Hungarian. In 1969, she published ''Katalin utca'' ("Katalin Street"), a realistic depiction of post-World War II life. Her most widely read novel '' Abigél'' ("Abigail", 1970) is an

adventure story Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the Introduction to the ''Encyclopedi ...

about a young girl living in a Calvinist girls-only school in eastern Hungary during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The novel's success resulted in a

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

, produced in 1978; the novel was also adapted into a musical that premiered in March 2008. In 1971, Szabó began a series of

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...

works, which depict her family history. The first of this series is the short novel, ''Ókút'' ("The Ancient Well"), followed by ''Régimódi történet'' ("Old-Fashioned Story"). In 2002, Szabó continued this autobiographical series with ''Für Elise'', a recollection of the author's life from 1917 to 1935. Today, this is one of her most popular works in Hungarian. In 1975, Szabó published a collection of plays titled ''Az órák és a farkasok'' ("The Wolf Hours"). She published two more dramas in 1984, ''Erőnk szerint'' ("According to Our Strength") and ''Béla Király'' ("King Béla"). Her novel ''Az ajtó'' ( ''The Door'') was published in 1987 and would become one of her most famous works worldwide. The novel revolves around the relationship between two women, one a prominent Hungarian writer much like Szabó herself, and the other her cryptic housekeeper.

Claire Messud Claire Messud (born 1966) is an American novelist and literature and creative writing professor. She is best known as the author of the novel '' The Emperor's Children'' (2006). Early life Born in Greenwich, Connecticut,van Gelder, Lawrence. "Foo ...

writes in the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' that reading ''The Door'', has completely changed her outlook on life while

Cynthia Zarin Cynthia Zarin (born 1959) is an American poet and journalist. Life She graduated from Harvard University ''magna cum laude'', and Columbia University with an M.F.A. She married Michael Seccareccia on January 24, 1988, but later divorced. She mar ...

, contributor to ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

,'' calls it "a bone-shaking book." ''The Door'' was translated into English in 1995 by Stefan Draughon and again in 2005 by

Len Rix Len Rix is a translator of Hungarian literature into English, noted for his translations of Antal Szerb's '' Journey by Moonlight'' and ''The Pendragon Legend'' and of Magda Szabó's '' The Door'' and ''Katalin Street''. Early life and education ...

Selected bibliography

*''Mondják meg Zsófikának'' (1958). ''Tell Sally...'', trans. Ursula McLean (Corvina Press, 1963). *''Az őz'' (1959). ''The Fawn'', trans. Kathleen Szasz (J. Cape, 1963; Knopf, 1963); later by Len Rix (New York Review Books, 2023). *''Disznótor'' (1960). ''Night of the Pig-Killing'', trans. Kathleen Szasz (J. Cape, 1965; Knopf, 1966). *''Pilátus'' (1963). ''Iza's Ballad'', trans.

George Szirtes George Szirtes (; born 29 November 1948) is a British poet and translator from the Hungarian language into English. Originally from Hungary, he has lived in the United Kingdom for most of his life after coming to the country as a refugee at the ...

(Harvill Secker, 2014; New York Review Books, 2016). *''Katalin utca'' (1969). ''Katalin Street'', trans. Agnes Farkas Smith (Kids 4 Kids, 2005); later by

(New York Review Books, 2017). *'' Abigél'' (1970). ''Abigail'', trans.

(New York Review Books, 2020). *'' Az ajtó'' (1987). ''The Door'', trans. Stefan Draughon (East European Monographs, 1995); later by

(Harvill Press, 2005; New York Review Books, 2015).

Awards and prizes

* 1949: awarded the

, although it was withdrawn the same day. * 1959, 1972: awarded the

József Attila József () is a Hungarian masculine given name. It is the Hungarian name equivalent to Joseph. Notable people bearing this name include: * József Braun (also known as József Barna; 1901–1943), Hungarian Olympic footballer * József Cserm ...

, a top Hungarian literary prize. * 1978: awarded the

Kossuth Prize The Kossuth Prize ( hu, Kossuth-díj) is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1948 (on occasion of the centenary of the March 15th revolution, the ...

. * 2003: a French translation of "The Door" by Chantal Philippe is awarded the

Prix Femina étranger The Prix Femina étranger is a French literary award established in 1985. It is awarded annually to a foreign-language literary work translated into French. List of laureates See also * Prix Femina * Prix Femina essai The prix Femina essai ...

, a French literary award, for the best foreign novel * ''Abigél'' was chosen as the sixth most popular novel in the Hungarian version of ''Big Read''. Three more of her novels appeared in the top 100: ''Für Elise'', ''An Old-Fashioned Story'' and ''The Door''. * 2006:

's English translation of '' The Door'' awarded the

Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize is an annual literary prize for any book-length translation into English from any other living European language. The first prize was awarded in 1999. The prize is funded by and named in honour of Lord Weidenfe ...

. * 2006:

's English translation of '' The Door'' shortlisted for the

Independent Foreign Fiction Prize The ''Independent'' Foreign Fiction Prize (1990–2015) was a British literary award. It was inaugurated by British newspaper ''The Independent'' to honour contemporary fiction in translation in the United Kingdom. The award was first launched i ...

2006. * 2007: French translation of ''Katalin Street'' awarded the 2007 Prix Cévennes du roman européen. * 2015:

's English translation of '' The Door'' listed as one of the

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

10 Best Books of 2015 * 2018: 2018

PEN Translation Prize The PEN Translation Prize (formerly known as the PEN/Book-of-the-Month Club Translation Prize through 2008) is an annual award given by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to outstanding translations into the English language. It has been pr ...

for ''Katalin Street,'' translated by

* 2019:

Warwick Prize for Women in Translation The Warwick Prize for Women in Translation, established in 2017, is an annual prize honoring a translated work by a female author published in English by a UK-based or Irish publisher during the previous calendar year. The stated aim of the prize i ...

(short-listed) for

's translation of ''Katalin Street'' * 2020: Hyman Wingate Prize for Writing about Jewry, long-listed for

's translation of ''Katalin Street'' * 2020:

(short-listed) for

's translation of ''

Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death ( 1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later married ...

Tribute

On October 5, 2017,

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

celebrated her 100th birthday with a

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References

External links

Biography, quotes and publications
review of "The Door" by

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

, October 29, 2005
Biography, including a list of her translated works''Times Literary Supplement'' review of ''Katalin Street'' and ''Abigail''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Szabo, Magda 1917 births 2007 deaths Hungarian women novelists Prix Femina Étranger winners Members of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts University of Debrecen alumni Hungarian children's writers Hungarian women children's writers 20th-century Hungarian novelists 20th-century Hungarian women writers International Writing Program alumni Attila József Prize recipients 20th-century Hungarian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Hungarian poets Hungarian women dramatists and playwrights Hungarian women poets Members of the Széchenyi Academy of Literature and Arts