
A lavish masked ball roils within the walls of the enigmatic Francia Castle, where guests glide in silk and intrigue. Among them moves Szindbád, a dashing wanderer in a black silk tuxedo, his face hidden behind a crimson veil. He is approached by a striking lady, Georgina Pálházi, whose delicate mask reveals a mix of aristocratic poise and desperate resolve. Their brief exchange hints at a tangled past and a looming danger that threatens her young son.
Georgina confides that her estranged husband, aided by a mysterious figure known as Sármai, intends to seize the child during the night’s festivities. She implores Szindbád’s aid, offering his sharp mind and daring spirit to thwart the plot. As the orchestra swells and the clock edges toward midnight, the castle’s corridors become a stage for secret alliances and hidden motives, inviting listeners to step into a world where elegance masks peril and every whispered promise could alter fate.
Language
hu
Duration
~3 hours (190K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
Hungary: Singer és Wolfner, 1914.
Credits
Albert László from page images generously made available by the Google Books Library Project
Release date
2022-08-16
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1878–1933
Best known for the dreamlike, melancholy world of the Szindbád stories, this Hungarian writer blended memory, desire, and everyday life into prose that still feels modern. He was also a prolific journalist and novelist whose work helped shape 20th-century Hungarian literature.
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