Jenő Rejtő (29 March 1905 – 1 January 1943) was a Hungarian journalist, pulp fiction writer and playwright who died as a forced labourer during World War II. He was born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary, on 29 March 1905, and died in Evdakovo, Voronezh Oblast, Soviet Union (then under Axis occupation) on 1 January 1943.[1] Despite the "pulp" nature of his writings, he is not only widely read in Hungary, but is also much appreciated by literary critics. It is a prevalent opinion that he lifted the genre to the level of serious art, and his works will long outlive him.[2]
Jenő Rejtő completed his studies in a drama school in 1924, after which he travelled extensively throughout Europe.[3] Returning to Hungary, he made his living as a playwright, often with great success, such as with his operetta, Aki mer, az nyer (Who Dares Wins, 1934).
Later, he started to write adventure novels based on his trips and experiences abroad.[4] His novels were raised above mediocrity by his inimitable and bizarre sense of humour. His novels parodying the French Foreign Legion, written under the pseudonym P. Howard, reaped the greatest success. He also wrote a large number of cabaret farces and edited a newspaper, Nagykörút, which, however, was published just once. His most appreciated novels are stories unifying elements from detective novels and romance, always including a unique sense of humour. He also wrote novels in the tradition of American Westerns.
Starting in 1939, he could not publish his novels any more under his own name because of his Jewish origins[citation needed]. On 9 October 1942, an article in the Nazi Arrow Cross Party’s newspaper (Egyedül Vagyunk [We Are Alone]) exposed Rejtő as a Jew and reported that he was seen writing calmly in Budapest cafés while evading the labour service draft that was compulsory for Jewish men of military age (they were forbidden to perform arm-bearing service in the military).[5] He was seriously ill by this time but was taken by force from hospital to do his labour service on the eastern front, into the Soviet Union, where he shortly died of typhus.[1][5]
Legacy
In the early years of communism his works were only available on the black market as pre-war editions, but from the 1960s on, his novels were republished, and they gained instant popularity in Hungary (then still under communist rule). They elicit a cult following to this day. Some of his works have been made into films and comic books. Rejtő’s comic book adaptations by Pál Korcsmáros (1916-1975) are regarded as classics in their own right in Hungary.[6] While a writer, he was a regular customer at the Cafe Japan (Japán kávéház) in Budapest, which was near Nova, his publisher. He paid for his coffee with lines written on napkins, which in turn were taken to Nova, where they were purchased and collated.[7]
Rejtő's memory is kept alive in Budapest in various ways: in 2001 a street was named after him,[8] while in 2003 there was an exhibition dedicated to him in the Petőfi Museum of Literature (Petőfi Irodalmi Múzeum).[9] In 2005 his picture appeared on a Hungarian postage stamp, part of the series "Great Hungarians", and there is an initiative to erect his statue in Budapest.[10]
Works
The original Hungarian editions of Rejtő's numerous works—the most famous of which are his Foreign Legion books and his "Dirty Fred" series—were already in the public domain in the 1990s. However, since Hungary implemented the EU copyright extension retroactively in 1999, Rejtő's works became again subject to copyright when sold in EU countries (but not in other countries); they entered the public domain everywhere on 1 January 2014 (70 years after the next 1 January following the author's death).
English translations of some of his works are available online:
A tizennégy karátos autó (The 14-Carat Roadster)
A szőke ciklon (The Blonde Hurricane)
Az elsikkasztott pénztáros (The Embezzled Bank Teller)
^"Pen name: P. Howard. Jenő Rejtő died 70 years ago". Hungarian Literature Online. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
^"Pen name: P. Howard. Jenő Rejtő died 70 years ago". Hungarian Literature Online. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2013.
^ abTibor Hámori: Piszkos Fred és a többiek... Történetek Rejtő Jenő életéből. [Dirty Fred and the rest of the bunch... Stories from the life of Jenő Rejtő] Ságvári Endre Könyvszerkesztőség, Budapest, 1982. ISBN9634225020.
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This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Jeno Rejto news newspapers books scholar JSTOR December 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message This article contains wording that promotes the subject in a subjective manner without imparting real information Please remove or replace such wording and instead of making proclamations about a subject s importance use facts and attribution to demonstrate that importance December 2012 Learn how and when to remove this template message Learn how and when to remove this template message Jeno Rejto 29 March 1905 1 January 1943 was a Hungarian journalist pulp fiction writer and playwright who died as a forced labourer during World War II He was born in Budapest Austria Hungary on 29 March 1905 and died in Evdakovo Voronezh Oblast Soviet Union then under Axis occupation on 1 January 1943 1 Despite the pulp nature of his writings he is not only widely read in Hungary but is also much appreciated by literary critics It is a prevalent opinion that he lifted the genre to the level of serious art and his works will long outlive him 2 Jeno RejtoBornJeno Reich 1905 03 29 29 March 1905Budapest Austria HungaryDied1 January 1943 1943 01 01 aged 37 Evdakovo Soviet UnionOccupationNovelist dramatistNotable worksA lathatatlan legio A tizennegy karatos auto Piszkos Fred a kapitany A harom testor Afrikaban A szoke ciklonThe native form of this personal name is Rejto Jeno This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals Contents 1 Biography 2 Legacy 3 Works 4 ReferencesBiography EditJeno Rejto completed his studies in a drama school in 1924 after which he travelled extensively throughout Europe 3 Returning to Hungary he made his living as a playwright often with great success such as with his operetta Aki mer az nyer Who Dares Wins 1934 Later he started to write adventure novels based on his trips and experiences abroad 4 His novels were raised above mediocrity by his inimitable and bizarre sense of humour His novels parodying the French Foreign Legion written under the pseudonym P Howard reaped the greatest success He also wrote a large number of cabaret farces and edited a newspaper Nagykorut which however was published just once His most appreciated novels are stories unifying elements from detective novels and romance always including a unique sense of humour He also wrote novels in the tradition of American Westerns Starting in 1939 he could not publish his novels any more under his own name because of his Jewish origins citation needed On 9 October 1942 an article in the Nazi Arrow Cross Party s newspaper Egyedul Vagyunk We Are Alone exposed Rejto as a Jew and reported that he was seen writing calmly in Budapest cafes while evading the labour service draft that was compulsory for Jewish men of military age they were forbidden to perform arm bearing service in the military 5 He was seriously ill by this time but was taken by force from hospital to do his labour service on the eastern front into the Soviet Union where he shortly died of typhus 1 5 Legacy EditIn the early years of communism his works were only available on the black market as pre war editions but from the 1960s on his novels were republished and they gained instant popularity in Hungary then still under communist rule They elicit a cult following to this day Some of his works have been made into films and comic books Rejto s comic book adaptations by Pal Korcsmaros 1916 1975 are regarded as classics in their own right in Hungary 6 While a writer he was a regular customer at the Cafe Japan Japan kavehaz in Budapest which was near Nova his publisher He paid for his coffee with lines written on napkins which in turn were taken to Nova where they were purchased and collated 7 Rejto s memory is kept alive in Budapest in various ways in 2001 a street was named after him 8 while in 2003 there was an exhibition dedicated to him in the Petofi Museum of Literature Petofi Irodalmi Muzeum 9 In 2005 his picture appeared on a Hungarian postage stamp part of the series Great Hungarians and there is an initiative to erect his statue in Budapest 10 Works EditThe original Hungarian editions of Rejto s numerous works the most famous of which are his Foreign Legion books and his Dirty Fred series were already in the public domain in the 1990s However since Hungary implemented the EU copyright extension retroactively in 1999 Rejto s works became again subject to copyright when sold in EU countries but not in other countries they entered the public domain everywhere on 1 January 2014 70 years after the next 1 January following the author s death English translations of some of his works are available online A tizennegy karatos auto The 14 Carat Roadster A szoke ciklon The Blonde Hurricane Az elsikkasztott penztaros The Embezzled Bank Teller Other works selection Az elveszett cirkalo The Vanished Cruiser A megkerult cirkalo The Found Cruiser Piszkos Fred a kapitany Captain Dirty Fred Piszkos Fred visszavag Dirty Fred Strikes Back Az elatkozott part The Cursed Shore A harom testor Afrikaban The Three Musketeers in Africa Csontbrigad Bone Brigade Az eloretolt helyorseg The Frontier Garrison Macon Etalon Press 2014 ISBN 9781940872001 Kindle ISBN 9781940872018 LCCN 2014930851 print Vesztegzar a Grand Hotelben Quarantine at the Grand Hotel Budapest Corvina 2009 ISBN 9789631358148 A lathatatlan legio The Invisible Legion Az ellopott futar The Stolen Courier Texas Bill a fenegyerek Texas Bill the Daredevil Pokol a hegyek kozott Hell among the Hills Megyek Parizsba ahol meg nem haldokoltam I ll go to Paris where I ve never been dying References Edit a b Janos Bus Peter Szabo Beke Poraikra May They Rest in Peace p 658 Varietas 93 Kft Budapest 1999 ISBN 963 03 8934 7 Hegedus Geza Rejto Jeno Pen name P Howard Jeno Rejto died 70 years ago Hungarian Literature Online 1 January 2013 Retrieved 2 January 2013 Pen name P Howard Jeno Rejto died 70 years ago Hungarian Literature Online 1 January 2013 Retrieved 2 January 2013 a b Tibor Hamori Piszkos Fred es a tobbiek Tortenetek Rejto Jeno eletebol Dirty Fred and the rest of the bunch Stories from the life of Jeno Rejto Sagvari Endre Konyvszerkesztoseg Budapest 1982 ISBN 9634225020 Pal Korcsmaros s comic book adaptations include Az elatkozott part 9632101677 A harom testor Afrikaban ISBN 9632123751 and Az eloretolt helyorseg ISBN 9632162919 External Link http kepeskiado hu korcsmaros rejto korcsmaros sorozat Life of Rejto Jeno in magyar Retrieved 18 June 2009 Pictures of Rejto street Retrieved 18 June 2009 The Museum of Literature Petofi Retrieved 18 June 2009 rejto hu Retrieved 18 June 2009 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Jeno Rejto amp oldid 1148370282, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
