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The Devil's Lieutenant
Vienna. 1909. Where passion and scandal toppled an empireMysterious packages of aphrodisiac pills sent to the cream of the Imperial Austrian Officer corps... a scandal of lust and shame that spread from the humblest barracks to the bedrooms of the Emperor's palace...and at the center of a web of deception and corruption, a brilliant, ruthless young man, his beautiful wife, his enslaved mistress, and his diabolical plan of vengeance and ambition...
384 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1970
3 people are currently reading
95 people want to read
About the author
Maria Fagyas
8 books6 followersMaria Fagyas (1905 - 1985) was a Hungarian-American playwright and author.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
September 24, 2020
This is another great historical fiction novel by Maria Fagyas, now an unknown and out-of-print author. I discovered this great novel while on my search for all things Vienna- that is, fin de siècle Vienna. This novel is a detective-thriller taking place in 1909 in Vienna. A captain in the Kaiserlich & Konigliche Army has been found poisoned. Judge advocate Captain Kunze is in charge of the investigation. Through very clever and thorough logic, Kunze discovers the poisoner. The process of how Kunze gathers evidence and submits his hypothesis is quite intellectually stimulating ad is one of the great qualities of this story. Even though the “culprit” is discovered halfway through the novel, the actual heft of the story lies in the interchange between Kunze, and the villain Lt. Dorfrichter. Kunze teases out the motivations of Dorfrichter’s poisonings, his ambitions and his warp, yet reasonable views of the current events of the time.
Fagyas’s writing style is so dispassionate and clear that I am often left wondering why she is not more well-known. The novel captures the political milieu- its complications and the restlessness in Austria- Hungary leading up to WWI. The characters are also drawn in a complex and unsentimental way. No character is thoroughly bad or good, but rather filled with complex motivations, needing to fit into the social expectations of the day.
Fagyas’s writing style is so dispassionate and clear that I am often left wondering why she is not more well-known. The novel captures the political milieu- its complications and the restlessness in Austria- Hungary leading up to WWI. The characters are also drawn in a complex and unsentimental way. No character is thoroughly bad or good, but rather filled with complex motivations, needing to fit into the social expectations of the day.
November 26, 2024
(since writing this review I have discovered a much more comprehensive account of Maria Fagyas's life on German Wikipedia: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_F.... I have left my comments unaltered but do recommend having a look at this entry because she is a fascinating woman in her own right - update November 2024)
I was very tempted to give this novel five stars because Maria Fagyas is a truly marvellous author and a wonderfully discovery (there is more about Maria Fagyas at the end of my review) But neither she nor her novel is in the league of 'A Man Without Qualities', or any of the other novels by Robert Musil such as 'The Confessions of Young Torless'; or The Radetzky March', 'The Emperor's Tomb' or even a minor work like 'The Pearl Necklace' by Joseph Roth, but she is damned good writer none-the-less and, in particular, writes expertly and convincingly about pre WWI Vienna society and the intricacies of the workings of the Austrian General staff and the Austrian army and officer corps.
The GR synopsis while not exactly wrong is wildly over heated in its fervid prose because this is not a Ruritanian bodice ripper but a very clever novel of a procedural crime investigation and the revelation of the motivations of those caught up in it. The novel won, deservedly, massive praise in the New York Times and other publications when it was published.
What makes it even more fascinating is that it is all based on real events and people (see: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_H...) but this scandal has largely vanished from almost all accounts of the final years of Habsburg empire because the Alfred Redl (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_... and, if you can, see the play 'A Patriot for Me' by John Osborne) was such an over-the-top opera buffe of a scandal that no other tends to be mentioned. Maria Fagyas' account of the affair is both believable and, where it moves beyond what she may know (again more of this later), utterly convincing. Interestingly she calls Hofrichter Dorfichter which I wonder was this a mistake or deliberate fudge to avoid libel in case Hofrichter was still alive (however unlikely that might have seemed in 1971 when the novel was first published).
All-in-all I would describe it as a cracking good read. I don't read crime fiction, historical or otherwise, regularly or without discrimination and Fagyas is a great writer and I am in the process of buying her other novels.
The only notes of criticism I have is one, the heavy, and nowadays old-fashioned, Freudian, analysis of the motivations of the central investigating officer, Emil Kunze, and his investigation of the crime and two, the portrayal of Franz Ferdinand which owes much, I am sure, to Ms. Fagyas's Hungarian background (Franz Ferdinand was hated by Hungarians for lots of reasons which go beyond this review) but neither really spoils this first rate novel.
Now for a little information about Maria Fagyas who I discovered, like many other really good forgotten writers, on the Neglected Book Page from which I quote the following:
"'...a book I have admired for years': The Devil’s Lieutenant, by M. Fagyas. 'This lurid cover is misleading because the book is not pulp fiction. I bought it at a library sale and since bought all books by this author (unfortunately, there weren’t many). You may be interested in its (few) Amazon reviews which are all 5 stars.'
"At the time of its first publication, The Devil’s Lieutenant received not one but two separate and enthusiastic reviews in the New York Times. W.G. Rogers wrote that Fagyas had “packed her novel with strain, tension, suspense–and, to boot, a wealth of political and historical relevance.” Thomas Lask called it, “a top-drawer psychological thriller that unrolls like a whodunit, so artfully constructed, so smoothly readable that you will find yourself devouring it at a single sitting.”
"M. Fagyas was the pen name of Marika Bush-Fekete, who came to the U.S. with her husband, Ladislasz Bush-Fekete, a Jewish Hungarian playwright who’d collaborated with Franz Werfel and had success with his own plays in Budapest and Vienna in 1937 (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladisla... and https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0124224/ for more details). Ms. Fagyas (1905-1985) helped her husband and then carved out a career as a screenwriter in her own right under a number of names (see: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0269595/?...). Perhaps for those of us of a certain age it is the information she wrote episodes of the 'Lassie' TV series in the 1960s that is most compelling. She wrote five novels: The Fifth Woman (1965), The Widowmaker (1967), The Devils Lieutenant (1970), Dance of the Assassins (1974) and Court of Honour (1978)."
A film and or TV series was made in France and/or Germany in the 1980s but I don't think it was ever shown in the UK or USA. The information I have found about Maria Fagyas and her husband is clearly only partial. But it is a reminder of the very deep and rich roots that 'mittel europa' has in Hollywood history. It may also be an example of how many stories are there waiting to be discovered or, more probably and sadly, are largely lost to us. Even getting hold of her novels, while not impossible, is difficult. Copies in languages like German are easier to find than in the English versions they were first published in.
Regarding why I have shelved Maria Fagyas as literature-mittel-europa and not Literature-Hungary or Literature-USA either of which are possibilities as she was born in Hungary and became a USA citizen. I created the shelf mittel-europa for all those authors, usually but not exclusively Jewish, who were rejected and had to flee their homelands because of the politics of the 1930s. It is lovely that many of those countries now embrace these authors but I can't help feeling that to restore their national labels is to hide or deny their being not only exiled but rejected by countries they thought of as home. I can't forget what that exile meant to writers such as Stefan Zweig, Walter Benjamin and Joseph Roth and how it led to their early deaths.
But to describe Ms. Fagyas as an American author is too simplistic. Her novels come out of her lived experience before she went to the USA and it is that, not the language she wrote in (though she writes English beautifully) that has made a writer of great novels.
I was very tempted to give this novel five stars because Maria Fagyas is a truly marvellous author and a wonderfully discovery (there is more about Maria Fagyas at the end of my review) But neither she nor her novel is in the league of 'A Man Without Qualities', or any of the other novels by Robert Musil such as 'The Confessions of Young Torless'; or The Radetzky March', 'The Emperor's Tomb' or even a minor work like 'The Pearl Necklace' by Joseph Roth, but she is damned good writer none-the-less and, in particular, writes expertly and convincingly about pre WWI Vienna society and the intricacies of the workings of the Austrian General staff and the Austrian army and officer corps.
The GR synopsis while not exactly wrong is wildly over heated in its fervid prose because this is not a Ruritanian bodice ripper but a very clever novel of a procedural crime investigation and the revelation of the motivations of those caught up in it. The novel won, deservedly, massive praise in the New York Times and other publications when it was published.
What makes it even more fascinating is that it is all based on real events and people (see: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_H...) but this scandal has largely vanished from almost all accounts of the final years of Habsburg empire because the Alfred Redl (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_... and, if you can, see the play 'A Patriot for Me' by John Osborne) was such an over-the-top opera buffe of a scandal that no other tends to be mentioned. Maria Fagyas' account of the affair is both believable and, where it moves beyond what she may know (again more of this later), utterly convincing. Interestingly she calls Hofrichter Dorfichter which I wonder was this a mistake or deliberate fudge to avoid libel in case Hofrichter was still alive (however unlikely that might have seemed in 1971 when the novel was first published).
All-in-all I would describe it as a cracking good read. I don't read crime fiction, historical or otherwise, regularly or without discrimination and Fagyas is a great writer and I am in the process of buying her other novels.
The only notes of criticism I have is one, the heavy, and nowadays old-fashioned, Freudian, analysis of the motivations of the central investigating officer, Emil Kunze, and his investigation of the crime and two, the portrayal of Franz Ferdinand which owes much, I am sure, to Ms. Fagyas's Hungarian background (Franz Ferdinand was hated by Hungarians for lots of reasons which go beyond this review) but neither really spoils this first rate novel.
Now for a little information about Maria Fagyas who I discovered, like many other really good forgotten writers, on the Neglected Book Page from which I quote the following:
"'...a book I have admired for years': The Devil’s Lieutenant, by M. Fagyas. 'This lurid cover is misleading because the book is not pulp fiction. I bought it at a library sale and since bought all books by this author (unfortunately, there weren’t many). You may be interested in its (few) Amazon reviews which are all 5 stars.'
"At the time of its first publication, The Devil’s Lieutenant received not one but two separate and enthusiastic reviews in the New York Times. W.G. Rogers wrote that Fagyas had “packed her novel with strain, tension, suspense–and, to boot, a wealth of political and historical relevance.” Thomas Lask called it, “a top-drawer psychological thriller that unrolls like a whodunit, so artfully constructed, so smoothly readable that you will find yourself devouring it at a single sitting.”
"M. Fagyas was the pen name of Marika Bush-Fekete, who came to the U.S. with her husband, Ladislasz Bush-Fekete, a Jewish Hungarian playwright who’d collaborated with Franz Werfel and had success with his own plays in Budapest and Vienna in 1937 (see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ladisla... and https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0124224/ for more details). Ms. Fagyas (1905-1985) helped her husband and then carved out a career as a screenwriter in her own right under a number of names (see: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0269595/?...). Perhaps for those of us of a certain age it is the information she wrote episodes of the 'Lassie' TV series in the 1960s that is most compelling. She wrote five novels: The Fifth Woman (1965), The Widowmaker (1967), The Devils Lieutenant (1970), Dance of the Assassins (1974) and Court of Honour (1978)."
A film and or TV series was made in France and/or Germany in the 1980s but I don't think it was ever shown in the UK or USA. The information I have found about Maria Fagyas and her husband is clearly only partial. But it is a reminder of the very deep and rich roots that 'mittel europa' has in Hollywood history. It may also be an example of how many stories are there waiting to be discovered or, more probably and sadly, are largely lost to us. Even getting hold of her novels, while not impossible, is difficult. Copies in languages like German are easier to find than in the English versions they were first published in.
Regarding why I have shelved Maria Fagyas as literature-mittel-europa and not Literature-Hungary or Literature-USA either of which are possibilities as she was born in Hungary and became a USA citizen. I created the shelf mittel-europa for all those authors, usually but not exclusively Jewish, who were rejected and had to flee their homelands because of the politics of the 1930s. It is lovely that many of those countries now embrace these authors but I can't help feeling that to restore their national labels is to hide or deny their being not only exiled but rejected by countries they thought of as home. I can't forget what that exile meant to writers such as Stefan Zweig, Walter Benjamin and Joseph Roth and how it led to their early deaths.
But to describe Ms. Fagyas as an American author is too simplistic. Her novels come out of her lived experience before she went to the USA and it is that, not the language she wrote in (though she writes English beautifully) that has made a writer of great novels.
May 1, 2020
I realised I never put down my thoughts on this one, which is a shame, because I thought it was really, really excellent. I wolved this down within a few days and I know for certain I will want to pick it up again and re-read it in the future. The book's greatest strength has to be its convincing characterisations, from the main characters all the way down to the supporting cast. Every character reads like a fully fleshed-out human being, complete with flaws and vices and secrets that impact their actions and - ultimately - the larger narrative by raising the investigator's (and the reader's) suspicions and creating numerous false leads.
Because of that, the narrative surrounding the investigation itself is full of sweet, sweet suspense. Some of the chapters read more like a thriller than a historical crime novel.
But what really stood out to me about this novel, far more than the main plot, far more than the main character starting to question his morals (and his sexuality) more and more with every page, is the time the novel takes to show us how the criminal investigation that constitutes the main plots affects the lives of all the little people caught up in its margins, from characters missing trains to characters having their entire lives upended by their extra-marital affairs being exposed. After a few chapters in, I became genuinely concerned about every new minor character who was introduced, because I feared the effect the investigation might have on them.
If you're the kind of person who gets annoyed at blockbusters laying waste to entire city blocks in cool action sequences because "hey, that's somebody's home!", you need to read this book, because it's full of scenes that look back at the little people after they've been swept-up by the main plot and looks at them with sympathy.
The only reason I can't fully recommend this book to absolutely everybody without reservations is that, in the case of one particular character, the book falls back on what I consider very racially-charged stereotypes that didn't sit quite right with me. The book features multiple Jewish characters from different sections of society, so I don't suspect any malice behind the way this one particular Jewish character is written, but the fact remains that there is one rather important Jewish character in this novel (not a main character but definitely not a minor character either), who is presented as porn-obsessed, sex-obsessed and super-rich, who ends up seducing and carrying on an affair with a married white woman. This character is NOT a villain or portrayed as a criminal or anything like that, but the connection to that old stereotype of the rich, unsavory Jewish man going after the white woman is certainly there and I feel like this is something people might wanna know about before they dive into this thriller.
Another part of the book that might not sit well with readers is a brief mentions of teenaged characters having sex and it's never made clear how consensual that relationship was. Given how common sexual abuse is, I thought I'd mention this as well, just in case this is something you don't feel like reading about.
Because of that, the narrative surrounding the investigation itself is full of sweet, sweet suspense. Some of the chapters read more like a thriller than a historical crime novel.
But what really stood out to me about this novel, far more than the main plot, far more than the main character starting to question his morals (and his sexuality) more and more with every page, is the time the novel takes to show us how the criminal investigation that constitutes the main plots affects the lives of all the little people caught up in its margins, from characters missing trains to characters having their entire lives upended by their extra-marital affairs being exposed. After a few chapters in, I became genuinely concerned about every new minor character who was introduced, because I feared the effect the investigation might have on them.
If you're the kind of person who gets annoyed at blockbusters laying waste to entire city blocks in cool action sequences because "hey, that's somebody's home!", you need to read this book, because it's full of scenes that look back at the little people after they've been swept-up by the main plot and looks at them with sympathy.
The only reason I can't fully recommend this book to absolutely everybody without reservations is that, in the case of one particular character, the book falls back on what I consider very racially-charged stereotypes that didn't sit quite right with me. The book features multiple Jewish characters from different sections of society, so I don't suspect any malice behind the way this one particular Jewish character is written, but the fact remains that there is one rather important Jewish character in this novel (not a main character but definitely not a minor character either), who is presented as porn-obsessed, sex-obsessed and super-rich, who ends up seducing and carrying on an affair with a married white woman. This character is NOT a villain or portrayed as a criminal or anything like that, but the connection to that old stereotype of the rich, unsavory Jewish man going after the white woman is certainly there and I feel like this is something people might wanna know about before they dive into this thriller.
Another part of the book that might not sit well with readers is a brief mentions of teenaged characters having sex and it's never made clear how consensual that relationship was. Given how common sexual abuse is, I thought I'd mention this as well, just in case this is something you don't feel like reading about.
July 19, 2018
I inhaled this in a couple of days. I recall watching the mid-1980's mini -series based on this book when I was in high school. Ian Charleson (Chariots of Fire) and Helmut Griem (Cabaret) played the accused murderer Dorfrichter, and investigator Judge Advocate Kunze respectively. I recorded it on VHS and watched it over and over until the tape wore out, and then grew up and moved on to my next obsession.
Yet when I found this copy (this same edition with the same dust jacket you see here) in a used book store, I grabbed it like a starving woman.
It's so gripping, so simply and clearly written, with no flourishes or writerly adornments except for a killer story and a solid understanding of human motivation and drive. Loved it all over again.
Yet when I found this copy (this same edition with the same dust jacket you see here) in a used book store, I grabbed it like a starving woman.
It's so gripping, so simply and clearly written, with no flourishes or writerly adornments except for a killer story and a solid understanding of human motivation and drive. Loved it all over again.
May 12, 2010
The Devil’s Lieutenant is a murder mystery set in the glitter of the Austro-Hungarian world. On the eve of the “Great War” where military traditions, values and methods lagged far behind the scientific and mechanical advances of the 20th century, a most foul murder is committed and changes the lives of everyone it touches. I can only compare this book to an onion. As pages are turned and the murder committed, the ensuing criminal investigation peels slowly away like the thin skin of an onion. As the onion is peeled one gets the feeling that the onion may easily turn into an apple or pear. This, however, doesn’t happen and the story remains an onion. Maria Fagyas keeps the action simmering on the back burner with just enough heat to keep story-line going and the reader awake and turning the pages.
August 18, 2012
This is a book to which I'd definitely have given 3,5 stars if that had been possible. The Devil's Lieutenant is quite a perfect example of historical novel, because the author's understanding of its era and all sorts of details appears very credible. More importantly, the historical background of the novel was interwoven seamlessly into the story - or moreover, the story was born of its historical background. The reason why I wasn't entirely thrilled by the novel - even though it turned out to be a real page-turner and the writing is of excellent quality - is perhaps its report-like style. It deals with really big, dark and emotional issues, but somehow they were left a bit distant. Although I could feel for the characters, I couldn't feel them.
July 4, 2012
A psychologically interesting crime story set in the Austro-Hungarian army around 1914. Sometimes the story seemed to wander a bit off-track and concentrate on somewhat unimportant characters, but I guess that still worked as presenting the atmosphere of the era.
The title of the novel also baffles me a bit because although I kind of understand the point, I didn't feel that "the devil's lieutenant" was exactly the right description of the lieutenant in question, no matter if you take the "devil" here metaphorically or call some character by that name. My old Finnish edition has been titled as "The lieutenant and his judge" which I like more.
The title of the novel also baffles me a bit because although I kind of understand the point, I didn't feel that "the devil's lieutenant" was exactly the right description of the lieutenant in question, no matter if you take the "devil" here metaphorically or call some character by that name. My old Finnish edition has been titled as "The lieutenant and his judge" which I like more.
February 2, 2018
Far more engrossing than anticipated, this 1970 novel, based on an actual case, is set in pre-WWI Austria-Hungary where a dogged captain, a Judge-Advocate in the army, has to find out who poisoned a recently promoted captain on the general staff, one of ten men to receive a similar package in the mail. Suspicion soon falls on an officer passed over for promotion and it’s the battle of wits between the protagonists plus the authenticity of the setting and the spectre of looming war which provides a fascinating read.
September 15, 2024
I like an old-fashioned historical novel like this (written in 1971). About codes of honor and dishonor in the Austro-Hungarian Army shortly before the war, in 1909. Also an interesting true story, told as a murder mystery. The novel seemed to get rather long though.
April 5, 2025
I enjoyed this book. Interesting insights to the Austrian Army.
September 5, 2012
Massì, alla fine 4 stellette gliele dò. Più che altro perché questo libro è stato una vera e propria sorpresa. Mi è capitato in mano, letteralmente. Piccolo aneddoto. Cercavo qualcosa da leggere appena arrivato a casa dei nonni al mare. Avete presente le vecchie case di famiglia, dove si affastellano le generazioni, dove ci si ritrova ad agosto (più o meno) anche in questa epoca malsana in cui l'estate sembra non esserci più? Bene, quella roba lì. Rovistando come un formichiere nella libreria della stanza che fu dei miei genitori ecco saltar fuori Il Tenente del Diavolo. Anche questo l'ho letto in italiano, edizione Rizzoli (che su GR non c'è). Era talmente vecchia che non aveva nemmeno il codice ISBN. Dopo qualche titubanza iniziale l'ho divorato. Giallo vecchio stile, come piacciono a me. Più che il plot, quello che ci sta intorno. Acchiappante, ovviamente, pure l'ambientazione. Insomma, bello.
August 18, 2016
Węgierska powieść z wątkiem sensacyjnym, której akcja rozgrywa się tuż przed pierwszą wojną światową na terenie monarchii austro-węgierskiej tyle z opisu dowiedziałam się o książce
To ciekawa pozycja i czyta sie dobrze mimo iż nie polubiłam głównego bohatera porucznika oraz prokuratora wojskowego Emila Kunze
Domniemana wina Dorfrichtera jest głównym wątkiem tej opowieści
Dość zawiła relacja oskarżyciela i podejrzanego jest tylko pretekstem do pokazania
Imperium Habsburskiego w przeddzień Pierwszej Wojny Światowej.
Przenosimy się w czasy schyłku monarchii, zachwycamy się opisami Wiednia,zapoznajemy się z realiami funkcjonowania
środowiska oficerów cesarskiej armii.
To ciekawa pozycja i czyta sie dobrze mimo iż nie polubiłam głównego bohatera porucznika oraz prokuratora wojskowego Emila Kunze
Domniemana wina Dorfrichtera jest głównym wątkiem tej opowieści
Dość zawiła relacja oskarżyciela i podejrzanego jest tylko pretekstem do pokazania
Imperium Habsburskiego w przeddzień Pierwszej Wojny Światowej.
Przenosimy się w czasy schyłku monarchii, zachwycamy się opisami Wiednia,zapoznajemy się z realiami funkcjonowania
środowiska oficerów cesarskiej armii.
April 7, 2012
I went into this book not knowing what to expect, as I'd been given it as a gift. So I was surprised when, at the end of chapter one, it turned into a murder mystery - and then surprised and delighted to discover that it wasn't that at all, or at any rate not only that, but rather an intriguing study of the relationship between two men.
May 31, 2015
To me, one of the marks of good historical fiction is that I have to remind myself "This didn't really happen. Yes, some of the events did, but these are fictional characters." This book had that in spades (though I admit that Vienna right before WWI isn't exactly a time period I know everything about).
The characters themselves were complex yet familiar and easy to relate to or understand.
The characters themselves were complex yet familiar and easy to relate to or understand.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews