'A wonderful book' Ali Smith
'A sparkling slice of eighteenth-century life' Paul Bailey, Independent
In August 1785 Paris buzzed, with scandal. An eminent churchman, a notorious charlatan, a female fraudster, a part-time prostitute and the hated Queen herself were all involved. At its heart was the most expensive diamond necklace ever assembled - and the web of fraud, folly and self-delusion it had inspired.
In Szerb's last major work, a witty and often surprising account of events, the story is used as a standpoint from which to survey the entire age. Written in war-torn Hungary in the early 1940s, it constitutes a remarkable gesture of defiance against the brutal world in which the writer lived and died.
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Review:
'A wonderful book; both thoughtful and blasting, and another revelation of Szerb's light-footed erudition' --Ali Smith
'Antal Szerb belongs with the master novelists of the 20th century' --Daily Telegraph
'Szerb is a master novelist whose powers transcend time and language' --Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian
About the Author:
Antal Szerb was born in Budapest in 1901. Though of Jewish descent, he was baptised at an early age and remained a lifelong Catholic. He rapidly established himself as a formidable scholar, through studies of Ibsen and Blake and histories of English, Hungarian and world literature. He was a prolific essayist and reviewer, ranging across all the major European languages. Debarred by successive Jewish laws from working in a university, he was subjected to increasing persecution, and finally murdered in a forced labour camp in 1945. Pushkin Press also publishes his novels The Pendragon Legend, Oliver VII and his masterpiece Journey by Moonlight, as well as Love in a Bottle and Other Stories.
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- PublisherPushkin Press
- Publication date2018
- ISBN 10 1782274472
- ISBN 13 9781782274476
- BindingPaperback
- Number of pages384
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