Debrecen
Debrecen ( ; ; ; ) is Hungary's cities of Hungary, second-largest city, after Budapest, the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain Regions of Hungary, region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar County. A city with county rights, it was the large ...
– 28 February 1932 in
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
) was a Hungarian writer and translator. He completed gymnasium (high school) in Debrecen and Budapest and then studied law in Budapest. At the age of 18, his father died leaving him responsible for his family. He tutored and wrote theater criticism and articles for such publications as ''
Pesti Napló
''Pesti Napló'' () was a Hungarian newspaper published from March 1850 to October 1939. The paper was based in Budapest, Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, ...
'', ''Fővárosi Lapok'', and ''Budapesti Szemle''. In 1885, he moved to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
where he studied literature at the
Collège de France
The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...
and the Sorbonne. He became a contributor to ''A Hét'' upon his return to Pest and wrote a substantial quantity of short stories. In 1900, he became editor of ''Új Magyar Szemle'', and wrote some pieces for ''
Nyugat
''Nyugat'' (, ''West''; pronounced similar to ''New-Got''), was an important Hungarian literary journal in the first half of the 20th century. Writers and poets from that era are referred to as "1st/2nd/3rd generation of the NYUGAT".
History an ...
'', as well as serving as director of the National Theater (between 1917 and 1922).
Work
He wrote about the urban setting of Hungary in his work. His novel ''Midás király'' (1906) is a key psychological work. He translated a substantial amount of French literature including
Flaubert
Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...
Maupassant
Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the Naturalism (literature), naturalist School of thought, sc ...
,
Anatole France
(; born ; 16 April 1844 – 12 October 1924) was a French poet, journalist, and novelist with several best-sellers. Ironic and skeptical, he was considered in his day the ideal French man of letters.Balzac.