About
Sándor Márai, born Sándor Károly Henrik Grosschmid de Mára in Kassa (now Košice, Slovakia), is a major 20th-century Hungarian writer. Of noble German descent, he studied in Leipzig and wrote for German newspapers before settling in Budapest. A novelist, poet, and journalist, he rose to prominence in the 1930s–1940s with a precise realist style. His most famous novel, Embers (1942), explores friendship and nostalgia for the Austro-Hungarian Empire. An anti-fascist and anti-communist, he left Hungary in 1948 and lived in exile, notably in the United States. He died by suicide in 1989. Rediscovered internationally in the 1990s, he is now translated into over 35 languages.
* 1900-04-11 — † 1989-02-21
Major works
- A gyertyák csonkig égnek (1942)novel
- Egy polgár vallomásai (1934)novel
- A zendülők (1930)novel
- Vendégjáték Bolzanóban (1940)novel
- Az igazi (1941)novel
Key milestones
- 1948Leaves Hungary permanently after the Stalinist takeover.
- 1957Becomes a US citizen.
- 1990Posthumously awarded the Kossuth Prize, Hungary's highest literary honor.
Themes
Nostalgia for the Austro-HungarianFriendship and betrayalExile and identityDecline of the bourgeoisieSolitude and death
Sources: pim.hu · poetryfoundation.org · fszek.hu