Móricz Jókay of Ásva (18 February 1825 – 5 May 1904), known as Mór Jókai, was a Hungarian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

and

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

. Outside of

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much 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 south, Croatia and ...

, 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 The Hungarian Revolution of 1848, also known in Hungary as Hungarian Revolution and War of Independence of 1848–1849 () was one of many Revolutions of 1848, European Revolutions of 1848 and was closely linked to other revolutions of 1848 in ...

in Pest. His romantic novels became widely popular among the elite of Victorian England, where he was often compared to

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

by the press. One of his most famous admirers was

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

herself.

Early life

He was born in Komárom in the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

to József Jókai of Ásva (1781–1837), a member of the Ásva branch of the ancient Jókay noble family; his mother was noblewoman Mária Pulay (1790–1856). 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 (today Bratislava,

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

). He then attended the

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

college of Pápa (), where he first met

Sándor Petőfi Sándor Petőfi ( []; né Petrovics; ; ; 1 January 1823 – most likely 31 July 1849) was a Hungarian poet and Classical Liberalism, liberal revolutionary. He is considered Hungary's national poet, and was one of the key figures of the Hungari ...

and Sándor Kozma. When Jókai was twelve, his father died. His family wanted him to become a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

like his father had been, and he completed his education in

Kecskemét Kecskemét ( ) is a city with county rights in central Hungary. It is the List of cities and towns of Hungary, eighth-largest city in the country, and the county seat of Bács-Kiskun County, Bács-Kiskun. Kecskemét lies halfway between the ca ...

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 The Hungarian Academy of Sciences ( , MTA) is Hungary’s foremost and most prestigious learned society. Its headquarters are located along the banks of the Danube in Budapest, between Széchenyi rakpart and Akadémia utca. The Academy's primar ...

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 Lajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva (; ; ; ; 19 September 1802 – 20 March 1894) was a Hungarian nobleman, lawyer, journalist, politician, statesman and governor-president of the Kingdom of Hungary during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, r ...

's deposition of the then-reigning

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful Dynasty, dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout ...

. When the revolutionary war ended in defeat, he was present at the surrender at Világos (today Şiria,

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

) in August 1849. He intended to commit

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

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 Hungarian, or Magyar (, ), is an Ugric language of the Uralic language family spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighboring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Out ...

, writing thirty novels and volumes of tales,

essays An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

, and

literary criticism A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature's ...

. His renowned works ''Erdély aranykora'' ('The Golden Age of

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

'), its

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

''Török világ Magyarországon'' ('The Turks in Hungary'), ''Egy magyar nábob'' ('A Hungarian

Nabob A nabob is a conspicuously wealthy man deriving his fortune in the east, especially in India during the 18th century with the privately held East India Company. Etymology ''Nabob'' is an Anglo-Indian term that came to English from Urdu, poss ...

'), its sequel ''Kárpáthy Zoltán'', ''Janicsárok végnapjai'' ('The Last Days of the

Janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...

'), and ''Szomorú napok'' ('Sad Days') were written during this time. After the re-establishment of the Hungarian

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

by the

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

, 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 In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and founding the government paper ' in 1863. In 1897, King Francis Joseph appointed him a member of the

Upper House An upper house is one of two Legislative chamber, chambers of a bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller and often has more restricted p ...

. In 1899, he caused a country-wide scandal by marrying Bella Nagy, a twenty-year-old actress. Jókai died 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 ...

on 5 May 1904. He was buried with his first wife (who had died in 1886) 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'' ('A Man of Gold', translated into English under the title ''The Man with the Golden Touch''), the most popular ''A kőszívű ember fiai'' (''The Heartless Man's Sons''), the heroic chronicle of the

, and ''A tengerszemű hölgy'' (''Eyes like the Sea''), the latter of which won the Hungarian Academy's prize in 1890. His ''Jövő század regénye'' (''Novel of the Next Century,'' 1872) is an important early work of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

, 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 Aviation includes the activities surrounding mechanical flight and the aircraft industry. ''Aircraft'' include fixed-wing and rotary-wing types, morphable wings, wing-less lifting bodies, as well as lighter-than-air aircraft such as h ...

. Because it could be read as a satirical allegory on

Leninism Leninism (, ) is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the Dictatorship of the proletariat#Vladimir Lenin, dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary Vangu ...

and

Stalinism Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...

, the book was tacitly banned in Hungary in the decades of Socialism (only a 'Critical Edition' was published in 1981.) His writings became a major influence in the works of Gyula Krudy.

Collected editions

Collections of his works: * Összes művei. Nemzeti (Jubileumi) Kiadás. (Complete Works, "National Edition") 1894-1898, 100 vols. * Hátrahagyott művei. (Late and Uncollected Works; the Sequel of the "National Edition") 1912, 10 vols. * Összes művei. Centenáriumi kiadás. (Complete Works, "Centenary Edition") 1925-1932, 100 vols. * Összes művei. Kritikai kiadás. (Complete Works, "Critical Edition") 1962-, in advance.

Works

Translated 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'' ('White Rose'). * ''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 Anonymous may refer to: * Anonymity, the state of an individual's identity, or personally identifiable information, being publicly unknown ** Anonymous work, a work of art or literature that has an unnamed or unknown creator or author * Anonym ...

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

, 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'' ('Weekdays'), 1846. * ''Vadon virágai'' ('Flowers of the Wild'), 1848. Collection of short stories. * ''Kárpáthy Zoltán'' ('Zoltán Kárpáthy'), 1854. Adapted into the 1966 Hungarian film '' Kárpáthy Zoltán.'' * ''A régi jó táblabírák'' ('The Good Old Justices'), 1856. * ''Az elátkozott család'' ('The Cursed Family'), 1858. * ''Politikai divatok'' ('Political Fashions'), 1862. * ''Felfordult világ'' ('Upturned World'), 1863. * ''Szerelem bolondjai'' ('Fools of Love'), 1868. * '' Eppur si muove. És mégis mozog a Föld.'' ('Eppur si muove. And Yet The Earth Moves'), 1872. * ''A jövő század regénye'' ('The Novel of the Coming Century'), 1872-74. * ''Enyim, tied, övé'' ('Mine, Thine, His'), 1875. * ''Egész az északi pólusig!'' ('Right Up to the North Pole!'), 1875. * ''Az élet komédiásai'' ('Comedians of Life'), 1876. * ''Görögtűz'' (' Greek Fire'), 1877. * ''Akik kétszer halnak meg'' ('Those Who Die Twice'), 1881-2. * ''Szeretve mind a vérpadig'' ('Loving Till the Scaffold'), 1882. * ''Egy játékos, aki nyer'' ('A Player Who Wins'), 1882. * ''Bálványosvár'' ('The Castle of Idols'), 1883. * ''Minden poklokon keresztül'' ('Through All the Hells'), 1883. * ''A lőcsei fehér asszony'' ('The White Woman of Lőcse'), 1884. * ''A cigánybáró'' ('The Gipsy Baron'), 1885. Adapted into the 1885

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

The Gypsy Baron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jokai ...

'' by Johan Strauss II. * ''Életemből'' ('From my Life'), 1886. * ''A kiskirályok'' ('The Viceroys'), 1886. * ''A három márvány fej'' (The Three Marble Heads), 1887. * ''A lélekidomár'' ('The Trainer of Souls'), 1888-9. * ''Gróf Benyovszky Móricz életrajza'' ('The Biography of Count

Maurice Benyovszky Count Maurice Benyovszky de Benyó et Urbanó (; ; ; 20 September 1746 – 24 May 1786) was a military officer, adventurer, and writer from the Kingdom of Hungary, who described himself as both a Hungarian and a Pole. He is considered a national ...

) 1888–1891. * ''Gazdag szegények'' (Rich Poor), 1890 * ''Rákóczy fia'' ('Rákóczy's Son'), 1891. * ''A fekete vér'' ('The Black Blood'), 1892. * ''A két Trenk: Trenk Frigyes'' ('The Two Trenks: Friedrich Trenk'), 1892-3. * ''Fráter György'' (' Frater George'), 1893. * ''De kár megvénülni!'' ('What a Pity to Grow Old!'), 1896. * ''Öreg ember nem vén ember'' ('An Old Man is no Fool'), 1899. * ''Egetvívó asszonyszív'' ('A Woman's Heart Fighting the Heavens') 1902. * ''A mi lengyelünk''" ('Our Man from Poland'), 1903. * ''Ahol a pénz nem isten'' ('Where Money is not God'), 1904.

Selected filmography

* ', directed by Travers Vale (1915, based on the novel ''Egy magyar nábob'') * ', directed by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

(1918, based on the novel '' The Man with the Golden Touch'') * ''

White Rose The White Rose (, ) was a Nonviolence, non-violent, intellectual German resistance to Nazism, resistance group in Nazi Germany which was led by five students and one professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, University of Munich ...

'', directed by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

(1919, based on the novel ''A fehér rózsa'') * ''

'', directed by

Frederic Zelnik Frederic Zelnik (born Friedrich Zelnik; 17 May 1885 – 29 November 1950) was an Austrian producer, director, and actor. He was one of the most important producers-directors of the German silent cinema. Zelnik achieved success through period oper ...

(1927, based on the operetta ''

'') * ''

'', directed by Karl Hartl (1935, based on the operetta ''

'') * '' Az aranyember'', directed by

Béla Gaál Béla Gaál (2 January 1893 – 18 February 1945) was a Hungary, Hungarian film director. His 1930 film ''Csak egy kislány van a világon'' was the first sound film to be made in Hungary.Cunningham p.28 In 1945 he was interned by the Nazis ...

(1936, based on the novel '' The Man with the Golden Touch'') * ''

'', directed by

Arthur Maria Rabenalt Arthur Maria Rabenalt (25 June 1905 – 26 February 1993) was an Austrian film director, writer, and author. He directed more than 90 films between 1934 and 1978. His 1958 film ''That Won't Keep a Sailor Down'' was entered into the 1st Moscow In ...

(1954, based on the operetta ''

'') * ''

'', directed by (1962, based on the operetta ''

'') * '' The Man of Gold'', directed by Viktor Gertler (1962, based on the novel '' The Man with the Golden Touch'') * ', directed by Zoltán Várkonyi (1965, based on the novel ''A kőszívű ember fiai'') * ', directed by Zoltán Várkonyi (1966, based on the novel ''Egy magyar nábob'') * '' Zoltán Kárpáthy'', directed by Zoltán Várkonyi (1966, based on the novel ''Zoltán Kárpáthy'') * '' Szaffi'', directed by Attila Dargay (1984, based on the novel ''The Gypsy Baron'')

Honors

Three stamps were issued by Hungary in his honor, all on 1 February 1925.

References

Citations

Sources

* Névy László, ''Jókai Mór'' * Hegedűs Sándor, ''Jókai Mórról'' * H. W. V. Temperley
"Maurus Jokai and the Historical Novel"
pp. 107–114, ''Contemporary Review'' (July 1904). *

External links