Translated from the Hungarian by
NEW YORK
DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
Copyright 1899 by Doubleday & McClure Co.
This noble novel, now translated into English for the first time, waswritten nearly fifty years ago. On its first appearance, Hungariancritics of every school at once hailed it as a masterpiece. It hasmaintained its popularity ever since; and now, despite the manifoldmutations of literary fashion, in Hungary as elsewhere, has reached theunassailable position of a national classic.
It is no light task to attempt to transplant a classic like "Egy MagyarNábob." National tastes differ infinitely, and then there is theformidable initial difficulty of contending with a strange and bafflingnon-aryan language. Only those few hardy linguists who have learnt, inthe sweat of their brows, to read a meaning into that miracle ofagglutinative ingenuity, an Hungarian sentence, will be able toappreciate the immense labour of rendering some four hundred pages of aMagyar masterpiece of peculiarly idiomatic difficulty into fairlyreadable English. But my profound admiration for the illustriousHungarian romancer, and my intimate conviction that, of all continentalnovelists, he is most likely to appeal[Pg 6] to healthy English taste, whichhas ever preferred the humorous and romantic story to theTendenz-Roman, or novel with a purpose, have encouraged me topersevere to the end of my formidable task.
I may add, in conclusion, that I have taken the liberty to cut out agood third of the original work, and this I have done advisedly, havingalways been very strongly of opinion that the technique of theoriginal tale suffered from an excess of episode. This embarras derichesse would naturally be still more noticeable in a translation, andI am particularly anxious that "A Hungarian Nabob" should attract atfirst sight. Let this, therefore, be my apology to Dr. Jókai and, as Itrust, my claim upon his forgiveness.
R. NISBET BAIN.
August, 1898.