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