Kálmán Mikszáth de Kiscsoltó (16 January 1847 – 28 May 1910) was a widely reputed Hungarian novelist, journalist, and politician. His work remains in print in Hungarian and still appears from time to time in other languages.

Biography

Mikszáth was born in Szklabonya (also known as Sklabiná or Szlabonya),In parentheses are official names valid and used in 1808–1863

Upper Hungary Upper Hungary is the usual English translation of ''Felvidék'' (literally: "Upland"), the Hungarian term for the area that was historically the northern part of the Kingdom of Hungary, now mostly present-day Slovakia. The region has also been ...

(now Sklabiná,

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

) into a family of the lesser nobility. He studied law at the

University of Budapest A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

from 1866 to 1869, although he did not apply for any exam, and became involved in journalism, writing for many Hungarian newspapers including the '. Mikszáth's early short stories were based on the lives of peasants and artisans and had little appeal at the time. However, they demonstrated his skill in crafting humorous anecdotes, which would be developed in his later, more popular works. Many of his novels contained social commentary and

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

, and towards the end of his life they became increasingly critical of the aristocracy and the burden he believed the latter placed on Hungarian society. Mikszáth was a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, and in 1887 was elected to the

Diet of Hungary The Diet of Hungary or originally: Parlamentum Publicum / Parlamentum Generale ( hu, Országgyűlés) became the supreme legislative institution in the medieval kingdom of Hungary from the 1290s, and in its successor states, Royal Hungary and ...

(one of the two top legislatures in

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 ...

). Until 1879 he was the representative for the Illyefalva District in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

, and from 1892 until his death he represented the

Fogaras Fogaras was an administrative county (comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary. Its territory is now in central Romania (south-eastern Transylvania). The county's capital was Fogaras (present-day Făgăraș). Geography Fogaras county shared border ...

District. During his time in the Diet, he lived at Dohnányi utca 28 in central

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

. In 1910, the village he was born was renamed Mikszáthfalva during his 40th annual writer's jubilee. Kálmán Mikszáth was buried in

Kerepesi Cemetery Kerepesi Cemetery (Hungarian: ''Kerepesi úti temető'' or ''Kerepesi temető'', official name: ''Fiumei úti nemzeti sírkert'', i.e. "Fiume Road National Graveyard") is the most famous cemetery in Budapest. It is one of the oldest cemeteries in ...

, alongside his sons János (1886–1890) and Albert (1889–1921).

Reception

U.S. President

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

enjoyed his novel '' St. Peter's Umbrella'' so much that he visited Mikszáth solely to express his admiration, during a European trip in 1910. Mikszáth's work remains popular in Hungary and has been translated sporadically into other languages. The translation of ''St. Peter's Umbrella'' reappeared in 2012, 2018 and 2019. ''The Siege of Beszterce'' was republished in English in 2014 and ''The Town in Black'' (''A fekete város'', 1911) appeared in 2011.

Selected works

*''The Slovak Relations'' (1881)
''The Good People of Palocz'' (1882)
(hyperlinked on 20 January 2021) *''Anna Bede's Debt'' *''The Grass of Lohina'' (1885) *''Two Beggar-Students'' (1886) *''The Postmaster General'' (1886) *''The Magic Caftan'' (1889) *'' St. Peter's Umbrella'' (1895) *''The Siege of Beszterce'' (1896), adapted as an opera by

Ján Cikker Ján Cikker (29 July 1911 – 21 December 1989) was a Slovak composer, a leading exponent of modern Slovak classical music. He was awarded the title ''National Artist'' in Slovakia, the Herder Prize (1966) and thIMC-UNESCO International Music Pri ...

*''The Gentry'' (1897) *''Two Elections in Hungary'' (1896 and 1899) *''New Zrínyiád'' (1898) *''A Strange Marriage'' (1900) *''The Women of Szelistye'' (1901) *''The Young Noszty's Affair with Mari Tóth'' (1908) *'' The Town in Black'' (1908–1910, set in the town of Lőcse)

Notes

References

Lóránt Czigány's ''A History of Hungarian Literature''

External links

* * 1847 births 1910 deaths People from Veľký Krtíš District Hungarian nobility Hungarian male novelists Hungarian journalists Hungarian satirists Members of the National Assembly of Hungary 19th-century Hungarian novelists Burials at Kerepesi Cemetery 19th-century Hungarian male writers {{Hungary-politician-stub