Krúdy's Chronicles
Turn-of-the-Century Hungary in Gyula Krúdy's Journalism
Edited by John Bátki. His stories have appeared
in The New Yorker. He has received the O. Henry Award
for short fiction and has taught at Harvard University.
With an introduction by John Lukacs, author
of several well - known history books, among them Budapest
1900: A Historical Portrait of a City and its Culture
(Grove Press, 1990).
Gyula Krúdy is one of the towering figures of
twentieth century Hungarian literature. In addition
to a stunning array of fiction - over eighty novels
and stories - Krúdy's non-fiction output is considerable,
about eighteen hundred items of journalistic writing.
These writings constitute a colourful and closely observed
'chronicle' of Hungary in the first decades of the twentieth
century.
Written during the 1910s '20s and '30s, these articles
offer a wistful and nostalgic image of the waning years
of the Austro-Hungarian empire, with portraits of the
Habsburgs, culminating in first-hand reports in 1916,
from Vienna on the funeral of Emperor Francis Joseph
I, and from Budapest on the coronation of Charles IV,
the last king of Hungary. Krúdy's reports follow the
bloodless democratic revolution of 1918, the Károlyi
government and the short-lived Soviet Republic, and
present cameos of the leading political figures of the
day such as Ferenc Kossuth, Mihály Károlyi and Béla
Kun.
In his lively, casual pieces Krúdy displays his intimate
knowledge of Hungarian society with a special emphasis
on literature and publishing.
Contents
Intoduction. Chapter 1: The St. Stephen's day traveler
Chapter 2: Catholic crusading Knights of Yore
in their days of glory and old age Chapter 3:
The bridegroom of Andrássy Avenue Chapter 4:
Somosy, who taught Pest a lesson in night-life Chapter
5: Kossuth's son Chapter 6: Franz Josef's
wine Chapter 7: Franz Josef I, the foremost gentleman
in Europe Chapter 8: Ida Ferenczy, the Queen's
Lady-in-Waiting Chapter 9: Baltazzi, the agent
of the Crown Prince Chapter 10: Letter from Pest,
10th May 1914 Chapter 11: Letter from Pest, 31st
May 1914 Chapter 12: September twighlight Chapter
13: Winter campaign Chapter 14: A Budapest
gentleman from an old woodcut Chapter 15: Women's
hands Chapter 16: After sundown in a Hungarian
village Chapter 17: The Golden Age of Pest Chapter
18: Journey around a Habsburg funeral Chapter
19: The coronation of the last Habsburg King Chapter
20: Charles IV, our unlucky King Chapter 21:
If the elder Tisza were to return. Chapter 22:
A chat about the revolution with a Russian lady Chapter
23: Istvánás journey towards death Chapter 24:
The new conquest Chapter 25: How did the revolution
break out? Chapter 26: The land distribution
at Kápolna Chapter 27: Károlyi's strange career
Chapter 28: The Bolshie Chapter 29: We,
old-time Hungarians. Chapter 30: The grandchildren
of our forefathers Chapter 31: The story of X.Y.,
Chapter 32: The Mayor of Budapest Chapter 33:
The streets of Saint Teresa Chapter 34: Hungarian
gentry Chapter 35: The court kept by Miklós Szemere
Chapter 36: Szemere's will Chapter 37: 100
years of horse-racing in Budapest Chapter 38:
The rose of Pest Chapter 39: László Mednyánszky,
the Vagabond Baron Chapter 40: The authentic
history of a legendary card battle Chapter 41: Novelist
at the casino Chapter 42: Endre Ady's nights
Chapter 43: Tiszaeszlár, 50 years later Notes.
Index. Bibliography
2000
300 pages
ISBN 978-963-9116-78-8 cloth $27.95 / €18.95 / £13.95
Cloth at paperback price!
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