At an end-of-London-season soirée, the young Hungarian scholar-dilettante Janos Bátky is introduced to the Earl of Gwynedd, a reclusive eccentric who is the subject of strange rumors. Invited to the family seat—Pendragon Castle in North Wales—Bátky receives a mysterious phone call warning him not to go; but he does and finds himself in a bizarre world of mysticism and romance, animal experimentation, and planned murder. His quest to solve the central mystery takes him down strange byways—old libraries and warehouse cellars, Welsh mountains, and underground tombs.
The Pendragon Legend
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"A detective story, gothic novel, and social satire . . . written with great wit and a lightness of touch, The Pendragon Legend is deliberately absurd: an eccentric aristocrat working in a secret lab, a midnight rider seeking vengeance, and a woman so beautiful she leads men to suicide are just some of the elements thrown into this delightful novel." —Telegraph
"A writer of immense subtlety and generosity, with an uncommonly light touch which masks its own artistry. His novels transform farce into poetry, comic melancholy into a kind of self-effacing grace. Can literary mastery be this quiet-seeming, this hilarious, this kind? Antal Szerb is one of the great European writers." —Ali Smith, author, The Accidental
About the Author
Antal Szerb (1901–1945) was an essayist, novelist, playwright, and a formidable scholar whose books include History of Hungarian Literature, Journey by Moonlight, Oliver VII, and The Queen's Necklace. He was twice awarded the Baumgarten Prize, and in 1933 he was elected president of the Hungarian Literary Academy. Len Rix also translated Journey by Moonlight and Oliver VII.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Gothic mystery with tones of occult and comedy
May 15 2008
By Mikko Saari
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
The Pendragon Legend is an Hungarian novel from 1930s, but the story isn't particularly Hungarian. A Hungarian researcher and bibliophile János Bátky is introduced to the Earl of Pendragon and is invited to study the books in his exquisite library. Bátky soon learns that getting involved with the Pendragons can be dangerous: he is threatened by mysterious forces and many strange events happen at the Pendragon manor. Antihero Bátky is an outsider who gets drawn into quite a mess.
The story is a strange mixture of gothic horror story and light comedy. The Earl Pendragon is a gloomy old gentleman and the history of the family features legendary characters. Rosicrucianism plays an important role in the story. The Finnish publisher advertises the book as Da Vinci Code published 60 years before Dan Brown's novel. This is advertising, of course, but the books belong in the same genre.
The Pendragon Legend is a charming story. It's not high literature, but the plot is clever, Bátky is a lovely lead character and the story has a good vibe to it. I also enjoyed the old-fashioned atmosphere of the 1930's England, and the translator did a good job capturing that in the language used. The Pendragon Legend is a tasty mystery with flavours of horror and occult. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)
The story is a strange mixture of gothic horror story and light comedy. The Earl Pendragon is a gloomy old gentleman and the history of the family features legendary characters. Rosicrucianism plays an important role in the story. The Finnish publisher advertises the book as Da Vinci Code published 60 years before Dan Brown's novel. This is advertising, of course, but the books belong in the same genre.
The Pendragon Legend is a charming story. It's not high literature, but the plot is clever, Bátky is a lovely lead character and the story has a good vibe to it. I also enjoyed the old-fashioned atmosphere of the 1930's England, and the translator did a good job capturing that in the language used. The Pendragon Legend is a tasty mystery with flavours of horror and occult. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)
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