Blue Guides to launch new translated fiction imprint
Blue Guides, known for their meticulous researched travel guidebooks, are launching a new literary imprint, Blue Danube, in May. The new series will be dedicated to publishing some of the finest Central European literature in translation covering travelogues, history, memoirs and fiction.
Blue Guides have an illustrious history, having been in print for over 100 years, since 1918. More than pure travel guides, they include in-depth background on culture, history, art and architecture and even archaeology, with bestselling titles including Blue Guide Rome and Blue Guide Sicily. Lifetime sales for the Blue Guides have exceeded two million copies.
Annabel Barber, Series Editor, commented: “We’re really excited to be launching a new imprint this year. We know from the success of the Blue Guides over the decades that there is a big readership for whom Central Europe holds a special place in their heart. I speak from experience, as I myself fell in love with Budapest when I arrived here twenty years ago, and never left! The literature from the region is incredibly rich and surrounded in an aura of mystique. So, I’m really delighted to be sharing with a wider audience some of the fantastic writers from the region. I’m really looking forward to bringing more undiscovered gems to an English-speaking audience, and I can’t think of a better way to kick off than with Miklós Bánffy.”
The first titles to launch the series in May will be two volumes from Miklós Bánffy, the aristocratic novelist from one of Hungary’s most noble families, best known for his Transylvanian Trilogy and sometimes referred to as the ‘Tolstoy of Transylvania’. Bánffy was born in 1873 into one of Transylvania’s longest established noble families during the days of the Austro-Hungarian empire. He was born with wealth and land to his name but always had deeply artistic inclinations, and though he studied law and followed a political career, he also became manager of the Budapest opera. He only felt free to marry the woman of his choice–a celebrated actress–after the death of his father. But it was the aftermath of the two World Wars that had the greatest impact. Austria-Hungary collapsed after WWI and Transylvania was ceded to Romania. After WWII, the rise of communism across Central Europe meant that, as an aristocrat, Bánffy became persona non grata. He eventually died in 1950 without any land or fortune to his name.
The launch titles for Blue Danube:
The Remarkable Mrs Anderson £12
ISBN 978-1-905131-89-1
When a priceless Leonardo is stolen from the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, the Hungarian government tries to hush things up and the police show themselves to be completely clueless. Thank goodness for Milla Anderson! A gifted reporter for one of Budapest’s daily newspapers, she picks up the trail in Palermo—and of course an international gang is soon hot on her heels. When a Hungarian detective is apparently liquidated and the oily Schönberg Belmonte begins insinuating his way into Mrs Anderson’s hotel, things start to look very dangerous indeed. This fast-paced crime story and lighthearted romantic comedy, set against a backdrop of Mediterranean scenery and fascist menace in Italy and Hungary between the wars, is Miklós Bánffy at his best.
The Monkey and other stories £12
ISBN 978-1-905131-90-7
The short stories in this collection, from the tale of the idle young man dawdling pleasantly in Venice to the Romanian villager meditating revenge on his tormentor, draw on the author’s experiences of life, love, sacrifice, betrayal and courage, and reveal, as a recurring leitmotif, an indomitable will to survive.
The books have been translated by Thomas Sneddon, an exciting new translator also living in Budapest.
The translations have been given the seal of approval from Thomas Barcsay, a Canadian history professor and great-nephew of Miklós Bánffy himself. Praising the quality of the translation, Barcsay says: “Hungarian is a notoriously concise language and Miklos Bánffy’s prose is more compact than most. To discover the subtle layers of meaning underlying the text and to render these in English without ignoring the hint of lyricism which infuses them requires both talent and sophistication. Thomas Sneddon’s outstanding translation shows that he possesses these qualities in abundance.”
Barcsay has also contributed a biographical Afterword about the life and times of his great-uncle, for the Remarkable Mrs Anderson. As Annabel Barber notes, “It means a lot to have the blessing of one of Bánffy family for these new translations. Bánffy was an aristocrat but his stories range across the whole social spectrum and are full of subtle and unusual depth. Unlike many short stories, they go on getting better each time you read them. And Bánffy always gets just the right balance of light and dark. They evoke a world which a lot of us armchair travellers may well want to escape to this summer.”
The books will be printed in Cornwall and distributed via Gardners. For sales enquiries, please contact: office@blueguides.com or sales@gardners.com
For further information, and to request interviews or review copies, please contact: Amelia Knight on Amelia.Knight@midaspr.co.uk
