Lajos Zilahy
Encyclopedia
Lajos Zilahy was a Hungarian novelist and playwright. Born in Nagyszalonta
(called Salonta
in Romania
) in Transylvania
, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary
, a province in Austria-Hungary
, he studied law at the University of Budapest before serving in the Austro-Hungarian army during the First World War, in which he was wounded on the Eastern Front - an experience which later informed his bestselling novel Two Prisoners (Két fogoly).
He was also active in film. His 1928 novel Something Is Drifting on the Water (Valamit visz a víz) was filmed twice. His play The General was filmed as The Virtuous Sin
in 1930.
Edited Híd (The Bridge) 1940-1944, an art periodical. Opposed both fascism and communism. In 1939 he established a film studio named Pegazus, which operated until the end of 1943. Pegazus produced motion pictures and Zilahy directed some of them. In 1944, his play Fatornyok (Wooden Towers) was banned. Gave all assets to government treasury in early 1940s for use in educating youth in world peace, which led to the establishment of Kitűnőek Iskolája.
He wrote the 1943 screenplay himself and co-directed it with Gusztáv Oláh in Hungary under the international English title Something Is in the Water. The Czechoslovakia
n screenplay was written by Imre Gyöngyössy, Ján Kadár
and Elmar Klos
, and directed by the latter two with a Serbian
, Slovak, Hungarian, Czech and American
cast on location at the Danube
in Slovakia
under the title Desire Called Anada in Czech (Touha zvaná Anada, 1969) and Slovak (Túžba zvaná Anada), with Adrift as its English title.
Lajos Zilahy became the Secretary General of Hungarian PEN
but his liberal views placed him at odds, first with the right-wing Horthy
regime and later with the post-war Communist government. Zilahy left Hungary in 1947, spending the rest of his life in exile in the USA, where he completed A Dukay család, a trilogy of novels (Century in Scarlet, The Dukays, The Angry Angel) chronicling the history of a fictitious Hungarian aristocratic family from the Napoleonic era to the middle of the twentieth century. He died in Novi Sad
, Serbia
, then part of Yugoslavia
.
Several of his novels have been translated into Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Rumanian, Serbian, Slovakian, Spanish (mainly), Swedish, and Turkish, and some of his plays into German, Italian, and Spanish.An edition of his short stories is available in Spanish and some of his short stories have been translated into Bulgarian, Croatian, English, Estonian, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovakian, Spanish, and Swedish, and some of his poems into German.
Salonta
Salonta is a city in Bihor County, Transylvania, Romania, near the Hungarian border.-Population:According to the last Romanian census from 2002, the city has a population of 18,074, made up of Hungarians , Romanians , Roma , and others .In terms of religion, 51.12% are Reformed , 36.46% Romanian...
(called Salonta
Salonta
Salonta is a city in Bihor County, Transylvania, Romania, near the Hungarian border.-Population:According to the last Romanian census from 2002, the city has a population of 18,074, made up of Hungarians , Romanians , Roma , and others .In terms of religion, 51.12% are Reformed , 36.46% Romanian...
in Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
) in Transylvania
Transylvania
Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountain range, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term sometimes encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical...
, then part of the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, a province in Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, he studied law at the University of Budapest before serving in the Austro-Hungarian army during the First World War, in which he was wounded on the Eastern Front - an experience which later informed his bestselling novel Two Prisoners (Két fogoly).
He was also active in film. His 1928 novel Something Is Drifting on the Water (Valamit visz a víz) was filmed twice. His play The General was filmed as The Virtuous Sin
The Virtuous Sin
The Virtuous Sin is a 1930 American comedy-drama film directed by George Cukor and Louis J. Gasnier. The screenplay by Martin Brown and Louise Long is based on the play The General by Lajos Zilahy.-Plot:...
in 1930.
Edited Híd (The Bridge) 1940-1944, an art periodical. Opposed both fascism and communism. In 1939 he established a film studio named Pegazus, which operated until the end of 1943. Pegazus produced motion pictures and Zilahy directed some of them. In 1944, his play Fatornyok (Wooden Towers) was banned. Gave all assets to government treasury in early 1940s for use in educating youth in world peace, which led to the establishment of Kitűnőek Iskolája.
He wrote the 1943 screenplay himself and co-directed it with Gusztáv Oláh in Hungary under the international English title Something Is in the Water. The Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
n screenplay was written by Imre Gyöngyössy, Ján Kadár
Ján Kadár
Ján Kadár was a Slovak film writer and director. As a filmmaker, he worked in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, the United States, and Canada. Most of his films were directed in tandem with Elmar Klos. The two became best known for their Oscar-winning The Shop on Main Street...
and Elmar Klos
Elmar Klos
Elmar Klos was a Czechoslovakian film director who collaborated for 17 years with Ján Kadár and with him won the 1965 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film with the film The Shop on Main Street.-References:...
, and directed by the latter two with a Serbian
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
, Slovak, Hungarian, Czech and American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
cast on location at the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
in Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
under the title Desire Called Anada in Czech (Touha zvaná Anada, 1969) and Slovak (Túžba zvaná Anada), with Adrift as its English title.
Lajos Zilahy became the Secretary General of Hungarian PEN
International PEN
PEN International , the worldwide association of writers, was founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere....
but his liberal views placed him at odds, first with the right-wing Horthy
Miklós Horthy
Miklós Horthy de Nagybánya was the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary during the interwar years and throughout most of World War II, serving from 1 March 1920 to 15 October 1944. Horthy was styled "His Serene Highness the Regent of the Kingdom of Hungary" .Admiral Horthy was an officer of the...
regime and later with the post-war Communist government. Zilahy left Hungary in 1947, spending the rest of his life in exile in the USA, where he completed A Dukay család, a trilogy of novels (Century in Scarlet, The Dukays, The Angry Angel) chronicling the history of a fictitious Hungarian aristocratic family from the Napoleonic era to the middle of the twentieth century. He died in Novi Sad
Novi Sad
Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....
, Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
, then part of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
.
Several of his novels have been translated into Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Rumanian, Serbian, Slovakian, Spanish (mainly), Swedish, and Turkish, and some of his plays into German, Italian, and Spanish.An edition of his short stories is available in Spanish and some of his short stories have been translated into Bulgarian, Croatian, English, Estonian, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovakian, Spanish, and Swedish, and some of his poems into German.
Selected novels
- Something Is Drifting on the Water (Valamit visz a víz) (1928)
- Two Prisoners (Két fogoly) (1931)
- The Deserter (1932)
- The Dukays (Résmetszet alkonyat) (1949)
- The Angry Angel (A dühödt angyal) (1953)
- Century in Scarlet (Bíbor évszázad) (1965)