István Fekete (25 January 1900, Gölle,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

– 23 June 1970,

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 ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

) was a Hungarian writer. He wrote several youth novels and animal stories. He is perhaps best known for his youth novel ''Tüskevár'' ("Thorn Castle", 1957), about two city boys' summer holiday at the corner of

Lake Balaton Lake Balaton () is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of the region's foremost tourist destinations. The Zala River provides the largest inflow of water to the lake, and ...

and

Zala River The Zala is a river in south-western Hungary. Its source is in the hills northwest of Szalafő near the borders with Austria and Slovenia. Its length is and drains water from . Several smaller rivers feed into it, including the Felső-Válic ...

, their experiences, adventures, contact with Nature in its genuine form. They are helped by an old man on their gradual journey into manhood. This novel was awarded the

Attila József Prize The Attila József Prize is an annually awarded Hungarian literary prize for excellence in the field of belles-lettres. It was first presented in 1950 in honour of the poet Attila József. Another major Hungarian literary prize is the Kossuth Prize ...

in 1960, was made into a film in 1967 (see it
IMDb entry
and was voted to be the 8th most liked novel of Hungary in the

Big Read The Big Read was a survey on books carried out by the BBC in the United Kingdom in 2003, where over three-quarters of a million votes were received from the British public to find the nation's best-loved novel of all time. The year-long survey w ...

in 2005. Its sequel was ''Téli berek'' ("Winter Grove", 1959). This novel, as well as ''Vuk: The Little Fox'' and ''Thistle'', were also in the top 100 of the Big Read.

Novels about animals

* ''Bogáncs'' (1957): another famous novel of his; appeared in English as ''Thistle''. It is about a sheepdog (''pumi''). It was made into a film in 1967
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. * ''Lutra'', the otter (1955); film version made in 1986
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* '' Vuk'', the little fox (1965) English translation Vuk the fox cub" (2008) . A very popular animated film was made from it in 1981. * ''Kele'', the stork (1955) * ''Csí'', about a couple of swallows (1940, short story) * ''Hu'', the owl (1966, novel)

Other novels and short story collections

Statue of István Fekete by Ferenc Trischler, 2017 Mosonmagyaróvár

* ''A koppányi aga testamentuma'' ("The Testament of the

Koppány Koppány, also known as Cupan, was the Duke of Somogy in Hungary in the late 10th century. According to modern scholars' consensus view, he was a member of the royal Árpád dynasty. Koppány was the lord of the southern region of Transdanubia dur ...

Castle Agha", 1937), a historical novel taking place in 1586. A film was made from this novel as well
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. * ''Zsellérek'' ("

Cottar Cotter, cottier, cottar, or is the German or Scots term for a peasant farmer (formerly in the Scottish Highlands for example). Cotters occupied cottages and cultivated small land lots. The word ''cotter'' is often employed to translate th ...

s", 1939, novel) * ''Öreg utakon'' ("On Old Ways", 1941, stories) * ''Hajnal Badányban'' ("Dawn in Badány", 1942, novel) * ''Egy szem kukorica'' ("A Grain of

Maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

", 1944, stories) * ''Derengő Hajnal'' ("Day Breaking", 1944, novel, originally released under the title: Emberek között, "Amongst People". Dramatization by Alfred Soultan) * ''Gyeplő nélkül'' ("Without a Rein", 1947, novel) * ''Tíz szál gyertya'' ("Ten Candles", 1948, stories) * ''Halászat'' ("Fishing", 1955, handbook) * ''Pepi-kert'' ("Pepi Garden", the history and description of the Szarvas arboretum, 1960) * ''Köd'' ("Fog", 1960, hunting stories) * ''Kittenberger Kálmán élete'' ("Life of Kálmán Kittenberger" n explorer of Africa 1962, novelistic biography) * ''Őszi vásár'' ("Autumn Fair", 1962, stories) * ''Csend'' ("Silence", 1965, novel) * ''Huszonegy nap'' ("Twenty-one Days", stories, 1965) * ''Barangolások'' ("Wanderings", 1968, stories) * ''Ballagó idő'' ("Ambling Time", 1970,

biographical novel The biographical novel is a genre of novel which provides a fictional account of a contemporary or historical person's life. Like other forms of biographical fiction, details are often trimmed or reimagined to meet the artistic needs of the fict ...

; film version in 1976
IMDb entry
* ''Rózsakunyhó'' ("Rose Hut", stories, 1973 – posthumous) * ''Tarka rét'' ("Motley Pasture", stories, 1973 – posthumous)

Awards

*1st Prize of the Géza Gárdonyi Association's novel competition 1937 *Attila József Award 1960 *A Munka Érdemrend arany fokozata 1970

Legacy

The Fekete István Education Centre in Nimfea Nature Conservation Association is named after him.

External links

* :hu:Fekete István

* :hu:Tüskevár

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fekete, Istvan Hungarian writers 1900 births 1970 deaths Hungarian children's writers Burials at Farkasréti Cemetery Attila József Prize recipients