Jokai

Jokai, MAURICE, Hungarian novelist, was born on 19th February 1825 at Komorn. He qualified himself for an advocate, but never practised; literature and journalism were more to his taste. He was an active partisan of the Hungarian struggle in 1848, and when the Austrians gained the upper hand, it was with difficulty that he escaped imprisonment. After 1849 he devoted himself exclusively to literary pursuits. His works number close on 300 volumes, and embrace novels, romances, dramas, humorous essays, poems, &c. Of these the most valuable are the novels and romances, of which The Turks in Hungary (1852), The Magyar Nabob (1853), and its continuation Zoltan Karpathy (1854), The New Landlord (1862; Eng. trans. 1868), Black Diamonds (1870), The Romance of the Coming Century (1873), The Modern Midas (1875; Eng. trans. 1885), The Comedians of Life (1876), God is One (1877), The White Woman of Leutschau (1884), and Timar's Two Worlds (Eng. trans. 1888) may be taken as good examples. His skill as a narrator is enhanced by a lively imagination, humour, and a complete grasp of Hungarian life. His work is sometimes marred by improbability, a straining after effect, and superficial treatment. Most of his novels have been translated into German. Jokai has also gained fame as a journalist, as editor first of the revolutionary weekly Pictures of Life, then of the political daily Fatherland, and lastly of the humorous weekly The Comet (1858-81), and the government organ Nemzet ('The Nation'). He is a prominent member of the House of Representatives, being one of the cleverest debaters of the party of the liberal government.