KAROLY (CHARLES) KISFALUDY

KAROLY (CHARLES) KISFALUDY, younger brother of the preceding, and regenerator of the national drama of Hungary, was born at Tet, in the county of Györ (Raab), on 6th February 1788. By quitting the army in 1811 he incurred the anger of an austere father, and was obliged to earn a precarious livelihood as an amateur artist, until in 1819 the success of a drama, The Tartars in Hungary, made him suddenly famous. This was followed by several others, all dealing with the past history of his country, and by comedies based upon popular life, the best of them The Student Matthias. Kisfaludy steadily improved as a dramatist as years went on. He died at Pesth, 21st November 1830. His Collected Works were published in 10 volumes in 1831 (5th ed. 8 vols. 1859).—The Kisfaludy Society, established in honour of the brothers in 1837, has rendered important services to Hungarian literature.