Release date is 2025-05-13

Albert László from page images generously made available by the Hungarian Electronic Library

"Német maszlag, török áfium : regény két részben" by Géza Laczkó is a novel written in the early 20th century. It is a historical tale of the Zrínyi family amid the seventeenth-century Habsburg–Ottoman frontier, following the formation of Zrínyi Miklós from child to disciplined Catholic noble and emerging commander. Themes include confessional politics, loyalty and statecraft, and the peril of “German” and “Turkish” influences pulling the country apart. The opening of the novel plunges into a Muraköz skirmish where little Miklós watches his father, Zrínyi György, fight the Turks, then shifts to Csáktornya, where Magdaléna and a comic friar fuss over lineage and faith. György rides to serve the emperor under Wallenstein, clashes with the general’s cold prudence, and dies after being sidelined to a plague-ridden post, leaving Miklós and Péter as orphans. The boys are placed with Jesuits in Graz: Miklós excels, Péter resists; a triumphalist school play trumpets Catholic heroism. Pázmány Péter blesses Miklós and imparts a political testament: unite the kingdom in Catholicism yet beware Habsburg overreach, keep Erdély as a bulwark. Miklós travels to Venice and Rome with Senkviczy, wrestles with temptation, reads Tasso and strategists, meets the Pope, then returns home to organize outposts and lead raids—sparking brutal tit-for-tat depredations and official censure. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Originally published: Budapest: Franklin-Társulat, 1918