Mária Szepes (; 14 December 1908 – 3 September 2007) was a Hungarian author. She worked as a journalist and screenwriter, as well as an independent author in the field of hermetic philosophy since 1941. She would sometimes write under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s ''Mária Papir'' or ''Mária Orsi''.

Life

Szepes was born ''Magdolna Scherbach'' into a Hungarian family of theater stars in

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 ...

. Her father, Sándor Papir, was a '' bon vivant'' and great star of

's stages. Her mother was

primadonna In opera or commedia dell'arte, a prima donna (; Italian for "first lady"; plural: ''prime donne'') is the leading female singer in the company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. ''Prime donne'' often had grand off-stage pers ...

. Her parents and her brother were to her like "brothers and sisters in spirit", as well as she admitted only spiritual relationship: "Everything else is just experience, engagement, disengagement –

karma Karma (; sa, कर्म}, ; pi, kamma, italic=yes) in Sanskrit means an action, work, or deed, and its effect or consequences. In Indian religions, the term more specifically refers to a principle of cause and effect, often descriptivel ...

." From 1916 to 1933, she appeared as a film actress (mostly under the name Magda Papir). One year after marrying Béla Szepes on 2 January 1931, she accompanied him to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

, where they lived until Hungary's German occupation towards

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

's end. In her book ''Magie der Liebe'' ("Magic of Love"), Szepes writes about the marriage, which lasted 56 years, and discusses the so-called "Alchemistic Marriage", the dissolution of the ego in the other. Szepes studied

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

, and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

in Berlin. Back in Hungary she first worked as a journalist, screenplay writer, and author. Her first novel '' The Red Lion'' was written in a hideout 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 opposing ...

and became a worldwide bestseller of

esoteric Western esotericism, also known as esotericism, esoterism, and sometimes the Western mystery tradition, is a term scholars use to categorise a wide range of loosely related ideas and movements that developed within Western society. These ideas ...

literature. The two '' Raguel'' volumes are referred to as her chief work by Szepes herself.

''The Red Lion''

''The Red Lion'', Mária Szepes' first novel, was published in 1946 in Hungary (original title: ''A Vörös Oroszlán''). During the communist regime Rákosi ''The Red Lion'' was considered to be nonconformist and therefore was prohibited. All copies of the book were ordered to be destroyed. However, the

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

and novelist Béla Hamvas managed to save four copies. Then, several supporters of the author typed up the novel, made templates for printing, and released the self-made copies through the underground. Almost 40 years later, the novel arrived at the desk of the Heyne publishing company via the agency Utoprop. The book was translated into German by Gottfried Feidel and was published as a paperback in 1984. More details regarding the history of origin are reported by Hans Joachim Alpers in his preface of the 2002 re-issue. ''The Red Lion'' has been adapted to stage and is performed in various theaters of the United States.

Plot summary

Szepes tells the story of the unhappy Hans Burgner, a miller's son born in the 16th century. After the death of his weak father and of a likewise miserable but beloved teacher, he becomes afraid of the unavoidable death of all living things. Driven by a monomania fed by persistent rumors of an

Elixir ELIXIR (the European life-sciences Infrastructure for biological Information) is an initiative that will allow life science laboratories across Europe to share and store their research data as part of an organised network. Its goal is to bring t ...

of Immortality, he becomes an apprentice of a mysterious physician and alchemist. However, instead of listening to the Alchemist's compassionate counsel and warnings, Burgner is driven by feverish greed to murder him; in this way, he acquires the Elixir while he is still spiritually unprepared, and is cursed thereby. This is the starting-point of a journey through the centuries: while Burgner can physically die, the Elixir enables him to retain the full memory of his previous lives as he repeatedly reincarnates into a variety of different circumstances. It also bestows upon him a profound spiritual sensitivity. Several times he attempts the Great Transmutation in order to deliver himself from his self-imposed curse. Hans Burgner is refined through his various incarnations. Against the backdrop of the last five centuries of European history, he undergoes dramatic personal development: beginning as a spiritually unawakened (and even infamous) character, he matures spiritually through the various challenges he is led to confront. He is first an initiate and Aspirant, eventually attaining the perfection of human personality which characterizes the

Magus Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin '' magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius th ...

, or spiritual Adept.

Selected filmography

*'' The Frozen Child'' (1921) * ''

Greetings and Kisses, Veronika ''Greetings and Kisses, Veronika'' (german: Gruß und Kuß – Veronika) is a 1933 German comedy film directed by Carl Boese and starring Franciska Gaal, Paul Hörbiger, and Otto Wallburg. It was shot at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin. The f ...

'' (1933)

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Szepes, Maria 1908 births 2007 deaths People from Újpest Hungarian journalists Hungarian writers Hungarian film actresses Hungarian children's writers Hungarian women children's writers Hungarian women journalists 20th-century Hungarian women writers 20th-century Hungarian screenwriters 20th-century journalists