Century in Scarlet: the Epic Novel of 19th Century Revolution by Lajos Zilahy

In 1848, much of Europe was swept by revolution; in France, Hungary, Poland, Italy and elsewhere, people rebelled against the system set up by the Congress of Vienna after the defeat of Napoleon.  Institutions seems to be moribund; police surveillance was everywhere, and the governments were insistent on maintaining the status quo. This excellent novel, often regarded as the finest to come out of Hungary, tells the story of that time and centers on twin aristocratic brothers from the wealthy Dukay family.

The revolutions of 1848 reached their pitch in Hungary, as the ruling class, old Magyar families and student intellectuals managed to mobilize the masses in an attempt to throw over the Hapsburg overlords. Initially successful and led by the national hero, Lajos Kossuth, major reforms were granted to the Hungarian rebels by a young and fearful Hapsburg Emperor, Franz Joseph.  But success was short lived as the Emperor called on the Russian Czar who provided hundreds of thousands of troops to kill the revolution.  Defeated in the field, Kossuth had to flee the country and lived in exile for the next 48 years.

The author weaves an excellent novel from the historical facts, occasionally throwing in bits of historian minutia regarding historical personalities from Metternich to Jozef Bem to the Russian Czar.  This makes the character come alive and gives a wonderful depth to the novel.  As Zilahy is himself Hungarian, he does manage to overlook the worse characteristics of the Magyar mentality, that of treating their very own minorities such as the Romanians and others brutally, expecting them to learn Hungarian, deny their own customs, etc.  In actually, the Hapsburgs did a much better job of ruling their diverse population.

This is the type of historical novel which can open vistas for the reader.  The actual reading of this revolution or the biography of Kossuth can be dry, but here, one can learn something from a novel.  I did not find any historical misstep and found the story to be smooth and entertaining.