The Village Notary () is an 1845 novel by Hungarian writer József Eötvös, his second novel. It was the first Hungarian literary work that received international recognition. The novel is a story of intertwined lives of the notary Jónás Tengelyi and an outlaw Viola., The Village Notary. A Hungarian Classic Resurrected in Translation, Hungarian Review, vol. 12, no.4., 2022
At least 25 editions of the book have been published.Balázs Devescovi, A falu jegyzője mondatairól
Commentary Literary critics noticed a difficult style of the prose of the novel, with extremely long sentences, difficult both for readers and translators.
Bernard Adams writes that the novel was critical of the traditional feudal administration, where the elite was lazy and the lesser folk was at their mercy and abuse. However the criticism in the novel fell on deaf ears of the contemporaries. At the same time it did have an entertaining value, and it was republished in 1865, with much of digressive material removed. In modern Hungary it is a venerable classic studied in schools, but, as Adams puts it, "a classic book is one that people know they should read but somehow fail to".
Translations German: Der Dorfnotar by János Majláth, 1846 by Adolf Wielheim, 1877 English: The Village Notary: A Romance of Hungarian Life, 1850, by , 1850THE VILLAGE NOTARY; A ROMANCE OF HUNGARIAN LIFE at Project Gutenberg Russian: Сельский нотариус, 1981 The Soviet critics interpreted the novel as follows: "The realistic novel is about the fates of progressive people in Hungarian society at the beginning of the 19th century, during the turbulent period preceding the revolutions of 1848. Noble heroes, bearers of progressive enlightened views, are opposed by egotists, intriguers who do not stop at betrayal and even crime."Сельский нотариус. Этвеш Йожеф
Adaptations 1872: a play Viola vagy az alföldi haramia [Viola, or The Great Plain Thief] by Viola, az alföldi haramia, népszinmü dalokkal 5 felvonásban 1920: a Hungarian silent film directed by 1986: Hungarian TV series, directed by starring András Kozák as the village notary and as Viola.A falu jegyzője (korhatár nélkül)
References
External links A falu jegyzője, 1901 edition, text download (pdf)