András Fáy ( sk, Andrej Fáy; 30 May 178626 July 1864) was a Hungarian author, lawyer, politician and businessman.

Life

He was born at Kohány (today Kochanovce, suburb of Sečovce) in the county of Zemplén, and was educated for the law at the Protestant college of

Sárospatak Sárospatak (german: Potok am Bodroch; la, Potamopolis; sk, Šarišský Potok or ; ) is a town in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County, northern Hungary. It lies northeast from Miskolc, in the Bodrog river valley. The town, often called simply ''Pa ...

. His volume of poems ''New Garland'' (1818) established his fame as a poet. However he won a much larger fame with his ''Mesék'' (Fables), the first edition of which appeared at

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in 1820. This book exhibited his powers of satire and invention. These fables, which, on account of their originality and simplicity, caused Fay to be regarded as the Hungarian

Aesop Aesop ( or ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE) was a Greek fabulist and storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence remains unclear and no writings by him survive, numerous tales cre ...

, were translated into German by

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(Raab, 1825), and partly into English by E. D. Butler, ''Hungarian Poems and Fables'' (London, 1877). Fay wrote numerous poems, the chief of which are to be found in the collections ''Bokréta'' (“Nosegay,” Pest, 1807), and ''Friss Bokréta'' (“Fresh Nosegay,” Pest, 1818). He also composed plays, romances and tales. Among his dramatic works are the tragedy, ''The Two Báthorys'' (1827); and several comedies, the most notable being ''The Old Coins; or the Transylvanians in Hungary'' (1824), and ''The Hunt in the Matra'' (1860). He wrote a

social novel The social novel, also known as the social problem (or social protest) novel, is a "work of fiction in which a prevailing social problem, such as gender, race, or class prejudice Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling toward ...

, ''The House of the Béltekys'' (1832); a humorous novel, ''Jávor orvos és szolgája, Bakator Ambrus'' (“Jávor the Doctor and his servant Ambrose Bakator,” Pest, 1855, 2 vols.); and a number of short stories. His earlier works were collected at

Pest Pest or The Pest may refer to: Science and medicine * Pest (organism), an animal or plant deemed to be detrimental to humans or human concerns ** Weed, a plant considered undesirable * Infectious disease, an illness resulting from an infection ** ...

(1843–1844, 8 vols.). In 1835 Fáy was elected to the

Hungarian diet 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 ...

, and until the arrival of

Lajos Kossuth Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (, hu, udvardi és kossuthfalvi Kossuth Lajos, sk, Ľudovít Košút, anglicised as Louis Kossuth; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, poli ...

in 1840 was the leader of the opposition party. After 1840, he took little part in politics. It is to him that the Pest Savings Bank owes its origin, and he was one of the chief founders of the Hungarian National Theatre. He died in 1864.

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, Andras 1786 births 1864 deaths People from Sečovce Hungarian politicians Hungarian writers Members of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences