Zsigmond Móricz (1879-1942), one of the leading Hungarian writers of the 20th century, was born into a poor peasant family. He became famous overnight as a writer of distinctive short stories when his autobiographical story 'Seven Pennies' appeared in the periodical Nyugat in 1908. Hailed by the critics as his most important novel, relations (1932) paints a striking portrait of the provincial society that he knew so well. It is a tale of the nepotism and corruption that ensnare István Kopjáss; High office is thrust upon him, but he finds himself dragged into a network of shady deals and is driven, his idealism shattered, to attempt sucide. Like Móricz's other work, Relations is marked by direct language, incisive characterisation, and its author's passionate realism and patriorism.
