The Pendragon Legend

Antal Szerb author Len Rix translator

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Pushkin Press

Published:31st Aug '07

£9.99

Available to order, but very limited on stock - if we have issues obtaining a copy, we will let you know.

The Pendragon Legend cover

At an end-of-the London season soiree, the young Hungarian scholar-dilettante Janos Batky is introduced to the Earl of Gwynedd, a reclusive eccentric who is the subject of strange rumours. Invited to the family seat, Pendragon Castle in North Wales, Batky receives a mysterious phone-call warning him not to go. Antal Szerb's first novel The Pendragon Legend (1934), set in Wales is a gently satirical blend of gothic and romantic genres, crossed with the murder mystery format to produce a fast-moving and often hilarious romp. But beneath the surface, the reader becomes aware of a steely intelligence probing moral, psychological and religious questions.

Szerb is a master novelist whose powers transcend time and language -- Nicholas Lezard Guardian May Szerb's entry into our literary pantheon be definitive -- Alberto Manguel Financial Times Szerb was fluent in German and English and greatly interested in unusual religious beliefs. His knowledge of Rosicrucianism and the occult informs this often very funny book, which takes many affectionate potshots at the period's popular fiction. Szerb, who produced a history of English literature, knew his Shakespeare, Blake and Milton, but also the frothier writings of John Buchan, Edgar Wallace and P G Wodehouse -- Paul Bailey Independent The novel shoots back and forth between London and Wales; and, quite astonishingly, there is not a false note in it... Szerb is a master novelist, a comedian whose powers transcend time and language (again, thanks to Rix for his tender approach to the source material), and a playful, sophisticated intellect... There is so much in this book that it is impossible to summarise, except to say that it is a romp, but one which romps within itself; it has fun with the conventions, and has fun with having fun with them, too. It is an absolute treat, deliciously ludic, to be read with a big smile on your face throughout -- Nicholas Lezard Guardian

ISBN: 9781901285895

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

240 pages