Mór Jókai
Móricz Jókay of Ásva, known as Mór Jókai, was a Hungarian novelist, dramatist and revolutionary. Outside of Hungary, he was also known as Maurice Jókai or Maurus Jókai or Mauritius Jókai. He was a leader of the outbreak of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 in Pest. His romantic novels became widely popular among the elite of Victorian England, where he was often compared to Charles Dickens by the press. One of his most famous admirers was Queen Victoria herself.
Early life
He was born in Komárom in the Kingdom of Hungary to József Jókai of Ásva, a member of the Ásva branch of the ancient Jókay noble family; his mother was noblewoman Mária Pulay. As a boy, he was timid and his health delicate, so he was educated at home until the age of ten, when he was sent to Pozsony. He then attended the Calvinist college of Pápa, where he first met Sándor Petőfi and Sándor Kozma.When Jókai was twelve, his father died. His family wanted him to become a lawyer like his father had been, and he completed his education in Kecskemét and Pest to that end. He won his first case as an independent lawyer.
Career
Jókai was bored by his work as a lawyer, and he was encouraged in his art by the praise the Hungarian Academy of Sciences gave his first play. In 1845, he moved to Pest where Petőfi introduced him to literary circles. Within the year his first noted novel was published as a serial by , followed by a hardcover edition in 1846. It was received with widespread critical acclaim. The following year, Jókai was appointed the editor of ', the then-leading Hungarian literary magazine, and gathered a circle of young writers around himself.At the outbreak of the revolution of 1848, Jókai was enthusiastic about its revolutionary cause. Before the revolution, he had been a moderate liberal who opposed excesses, but the revolutionary victories of April and May 1849 persuaded him support Lajos Kossuth's deposition of the then-reigning House of Habsburg. When the revolutionary war ended in defeat, he was present at the surrender at Világos in August 1849. He intended to commit suicide to avoid imprisonment, but his wife, Róza Laborfalvi helped him escape on foot through Russian lines to Pest.
For the next fourteen years Jókai was politically suspicious to the regime. He devoted himself to the rehabilitation of the Hungarian language, writing thirty novels and volumes of tales, essays, and literary criticism. His renowned works Erdély aranykora, its sequel Török világ Magyarországon, Egy magyar nábob, its sequel Kárpáthy Zoltán, Janicsárok végnapjai, and Szomorú napok were written during this time.
After the re-establishment of the Hungarian constitution by the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, Jókai took an active part in politics. He was a long-time supporter of Kálmán Tisza's administration, sitting for over twenty years in parliament and founding the government paper ' in 1863. In 1897, King Francis Joseph appointed him a member of the Upper House. In 1899, he caused a country-wide scandal by marrying Bella Nagy, a twenty-year-old actress.
Jókai died in Budapest on 5 May 1904. He was buried with his first wife in the Fiume Road Graveyard.
Writings
Jókai was an extremely prolific writer, especially after 1870. He devoted most of his time to literature. Among the finest of his later works are Az arany ember, the most popular A kőszívű ember fiai, the heroic chronicle of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, and A tengerszemű hölgy, the latter of which won the Hungarian Academy's prize in 1890.His Jövő század regénye is an important early work of science fiction, though the term did not yet exist at the time. In spite of its romantic elements, this monumental two-volume novel includes some acute observations and foresights, such as the prediction of a revolution in Russia and the establishment of a totalitarian state there, or the arrival of aviation. Because it could be read as a satirical allegory on Leninism and Stalinism, the book was tacitly banned in Hungary in the decades of Socialism
His writings became a major influence in the works of Gyula Krudy.
Collected editions
Collections of his works:- Összes művei. Nemzeti Kiadás. 1894-1898, 100 vols.
- Hátrahagyott művei. 1912, 10 vols.
- Összes művei. Centenáriumi kiadás. 1925-1932, 100 vols.
- Összes művei. Kritikai kiadás. 1962-, in advance.
Works
Image:Jokai3.JPG|thumb|300px|Statue of Mór Jókai by Alajos Stróbl in Jókai Square, BudapestTranslated into English
Collections of short stories
Hungarian Sketches in Peace and War, 1854. A selection translated by Imre Szabad.Novels
Midst the Wild Carpathians, 1852. Transl. by R. Nisbet Bain in 1894, and again under the title The Golden Age in Transylvania by T. László Palotás in 2022.The Slaves of the Padishah, 1852. Transl. by R. Nisbet Bain in 1902.The Corsair King, 1852–1853. Transl. by Mary J. Safford in 1901.A Hungarian Nabob, 1853. Translated by R. Nisbet Bain in 1898.Halil the Pedlar, 1854. Transl. by R. Nisbet Bain in 1901, and again under the title The White Rose by T. László Palotás in 2023. It was adapted into the 1919 Hungarian silent drama film Fehér rózsa.The Lion of Janina, 1854. Transl. by R. Nisbet Bain in 1897 and again under the title The Last Days of the Janissaries by T. László Palotás in 2023.The Day of Wrath, 1848–1856. Transl. by R. Nisbet Bain in 1900.Poor Plutocrats, 1860. Transl. by R. Nisbet Bain, 1899)The New Landlord, 1863. Transl. by Arthur J. Patterson in 1868.Debts of Honor, 1865. Transl. by Arthur Yolland in 1900.The Baron's Sons, 1869. Transl. by Percy Favor Bicknell in 1900 and adapted into a.Black Diamonds, 1870. Transl. by Frances Gerald in 1896.Modern Midas: The Man with the Golden Touch, 1872. Transl. by Laura Curtis Bullard and Emma Herzog in 1888, and also by Agnes Hegan Kennard, titled Timar's Two Worlds, in 1894. It has been adapted into multiple films, first in 1918, among them the 1962 Hungarian movie Az aranyember.Manasseh. A Romance of Transylvania, 1876. Transl. by Percy Favor Bicknell in 1901.The Nameless Castle, 1877. Transl. by Sarah Elisabeth Boggs in 1898.Pretty Michal, 1877. Translated by R. Nisbet Bain in 1891.The Strange Story of Ráby, 1879. Transl. by anonymous in 1909.Told by the Death's Head, 1879. Transl. by Sarah Elisabeth Boggs in 1903.The Green Book, 1897. Transl. by Ellis Wright, Mrs Waugh in 1897.Peter the Priest, 1881. Transl. by S. L. Waite and A. L. Waite in 1897.Eyes Like the Sea, 1890. Transl. by R. Nisbet Bain in 1893.Dr. Dumány's Wife, 1891. Transl. by Frances Steinitz in 1891.The Yellow Rose'', 1893. Transl. by Beatrice Danford in 1909.Other English editions
Life in a Cave: short novel for children, translated by Linda Villari, 1884.In Love with the Czarina: short stories, transl. by Lewis Felberman, 1893.The Tower of Dago: a short novel, transl. by anonymous, 1899.A Christian but a Roman: a short novel, transl. by anonymous, 1900.Tales from Jókai: selected and translated by R. Nisbet Bain, 1904.Not translated into English
Hétköznapok, 1846.Vadon virágai, 1848. Collection of short stories.Kárpáthy Zoltán, 1854. Adapted into the 1966 Hungarian film Kárpáthy Zoltán.A régi jó táblabírák, 1856.Az elátkozott család, 1858.Politikai divatok, 1862.Felfordult világ, 1863.Szerelem bolondjai, 1868.Eppur si muove. És mégis mozog a Föld., 1872.A jövő század regénye, 1872-74.Enyim, tied, övé, 1875.Egész az északi pólusig!, 1875.Az élet komédiásai, 1876.Görögtűz, 1877.Akik kétszer halnak meg, 1881-2.Szeretve mind a vérpadig, 1882.Egy játékos, aki nyer, 1882.Bálványosvár, 1883.Minden poklokon keresztül, 1883.A lőcsei fehér asszony, 1884.A cigánybáró, 1885. Adapted into the 1885 operetta The Gypsy Baron by Johan Strauss II.Életemből, 1886.A kiskirályok, 1886.A három márvány fej, 1887.A lélekidomár, 1888-9.Gróf Benyovszky Móricz életrajza 1888–1891.Gazdag szegények, 1890Rákóczy fia, 1891.A fekete vér, 1892.A két Trenk: Trenk Frigyes, 1892-3.Fráter György, 1893.De kár megvénülni!, 1896.Öreg ember nem vén ember, 1899.Egetvívó asszonyszív 1902.A mi lengyelünk", 1903.Ahol a pénz nem isten, 1904.Selected filmography
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