The page of Zilahy Lajos, English Reception
Reception
The Dukays by Lajos Zilahy
"...absorbing and highly entertaining." -- Kirkus Associates
"...vivid and sumptuous." -- New York Herald Tribune
"A picture of a great house in decay, it has a richness and even a magnificence which are exactly suited to the Dukays themselves." -- The Sunday Times (UK)
Description
Zia: Betrayed in love, clinging to her aging father while embracing the new era and her blossoming womanhood, she follows her dream to become a photographer.
Kristina: Her sister, she lives on the edge of intrigue during the tumultuous changes in Europe before WWII.
Count Istvan Dukay: Their father, one of the richest landowners in Europe. He refuses to see his centuries-old traditions crumbling all around him, even as his daughters leap into a drastically different world.
Filippo: He seduced Zia into marriage, only to scorn her love while he used her wealth.
Mihaly Ursi: Zia's lover, a scientist who risked it all to bring equality to his country¯by
attacking the Dukays and their way of life.
Rere: Count Dukay's "idiot" son, whose keen eye sees things for what they really are.
Mussolini, Hitler, King Charles and actual historical events share the stage in this story about
a family and a time that are both changed forever.
(Editor of this page: Kárpáti Göttler László Antal)