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The Remarkable Mrs. Anderson
Now appearing for the first time in English translation. 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. 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. Now published in English for the first time, translated by Thomas Sneddon
Color map & Black and white gatefold
Color map & Black and white gatefold
240 pages, Paperback
Published September 7, 2021
4 people are currently reading
45 people want to read
About the author
Miklós Bánffy
29 books68 followersCount Miklós Bánffy de Losoncz was a Hungarian nobleman, politician, and novelist. His books include The Transylvanian Trilogy (They Were Counted, They Were Found Wanting, They Were Divided), and The Phoenix Land.
The Bánffy family emerged in 15th century Transylvania and established itself among the foremost dynasties of the country. They owned a grand palace in Kolozsvár (Romanian: Cluj-Napoca, German: Klausenburg), one of the main cities of Transylvania and one of the province's largest castles at Bonchida. One branch was raised to a barony in the 1660s, while another became counts in 1855. The barons produced a 19th-century prime minister of Hungary (Dezső Bánffy), and the counts held important offices at court. Among the latter was Count Miklós, born in Kolozsvár on December 30, 1873.
Beginning his political career at the time when Hungary was a constituent of Austria-Hungary, Bánffy was elected a Member of Parliament in 1901 and became Director of the Hungarian State Theatres (1913–1918). Both a traditionalist and a member of the avant-garde, he wrote five plays, two books of short stories, and a distinguished novel. Overcoming fierce opposition, his intervention made it possible for Béla Bartók's works to have their first performance in Budapest.
Bánffy became Foreign Minister of Hungary in his cousin Count István Bethlen's government of 1921. Although he detested the politics of the Regent, Admiral Miklós Horthy, he worked to review the boundary revisions confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon after World War I through which Transylvania had been transferred to Romania. Little progress was made, and he retired from office.
His trilogy, A Transylvanian Tale, also called The Writing on the Wall, was published between 1934 and 1940. Bánffy portrayed pre-war Hungary as a nation in decline, failed by a shortsighted aristocracy.
In April 1943, Bánffy visited Bucharest to persuade Ion Antonescu's Romania together with Hungary to abandon the Axis and sue for a separate peace with the Allies (see also Romania during World War II). The negotiations with a delegation led by Gheorghe Mironescu broke down almost instantaneously, as the two sides could not agree on a future status for Northern Transylvania (which Romania had ceded to Hungary in 1940, and where Bonchida was located). Two years later, in revenge for Bánffy's actions in Bucharest, his estate at Bonchida was burned and looted by the retreating German army.
Hungary and Transylvania were soon invaded by the Soviet Union's Red Army, an event which marked an uncertain status for Northern Transylvania until its return to Romania. His wife and daughter fled to Budapest while Bánffy remained on the spot in a vain attempt to prevent the destruction of his property. Soon after, the frontier was closed. The family remained separated until 1949, when he was allowed by Romanian communist authorities to leave for Budapest, where he died the following year.
A mellowing communist regime in Hungary permitted the reissue of A Transylvanian Tale in 1982, and it was translated into English for the first time in 1999. The Castle of Bonchida is now being restored as a cultural center. An apartment is being prepared for the use of the Count's family.
The Bánffy family emerged in 15th century Transylvania and established itself among the foremost dynasties of the country. They owned a grand palace in Kolozsvár (Romanian: Cluj-Napoca, German: Klausenburg), one of the main cities of Transylvania and one of the province's largest castles at Bonchida. One branch was raised to a barony in the 1660s, while another became counts in 1855. The barons produced a 19th-century prime minister of Hungary (Dezső Bánffy), and the counts held important offices at court. Among the latter was Count Miklós, born in Kolozsvár on December 30, 1873.
Beginning his political career at the time when Hungary was a constituent of Austria-Hungary, Bánffy was elected a Member of Parliament in 1901 and became Director of the Hungarian State Theatres (1913–1918). Both a traditionalist and a member of the avant-garde, he wrote five plays, two books of short stories, and a distinguished novel. Overcoming fierce opposition, his intervention made it possible for Béla Bartók's works to have their first performance in Budapest.
Bánffy became Foreign Minister of Hungary in his cousin Count István Bethlen's government of 1921. Although he detested the politics of the Regent, Admiral Miklós Horthy, he worked to review the boundary revisions confirmed by the Treaty of Trianon after World War I through which Transylvania had been transferred to Romania. Little progress was made, and he retired from office.
His trilogy, A Transylvanian Tale, also called The Writing on the Wall, was published between 1934 and 1940. Bánffy portrayed pre-war Hungary as a nation in decline, failed by a shortsighted aristocracy.
In April 1943, Bánffy visited Bucharest to persuade Ion Antonescu's Romania together with Hungary to abandon the Axis and sue for a separate peace with the Allies (see also Romania during World War II). The negotiations with a delegation led by Gheorghe Mironescu broke down almost instantaneously, as the two sides could not agree on a future status for Northern Transylvania (which Romania had ceded to Hungary in 1940, and where Bonchida was located). Two years later, in revenge for Bánffy's actions in Bucharest, his estate at Bonchida was burned and looted by the retreating German army.
Hungary and Transylvania were soon invaded by the Soviet Union's Red Army, an event which marked an uncertain status for Northern Transylvania until its return to Romania. His wife and daughter fled to Budapest while Bánffy remained on the spot in a vain attempt to prevent the destruction of his property. Soon after, the frontier was closed. The family remained separated until 1949, when he was allowed by Romanian communist authorities to leave for Budapest, where he died the following year.
A mellowing communist regime in Hungary permitted the reissue of A Transylvanian Tale in 1982, and it was translated into English for the first time in 1999. The Castle of Bonchida is now being restored as a cultural center. An apartment is being prepared for the use of the Count's family.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 22, 2024
A sketch by Leonardo DaVinci has been stolen from a museum in Budapest, Hungary. The Home Secretary doesn’t want the theft to be publicized because he knows the opposition will hold it against him. The Museum Director received his job at the museum by pulling powerful strings to replace the previous director, and he is not qualified for the position, so he also isn’t anxious for publicity. While the police and border guards are informed, and the museum staff are aware, the situation is largely hushed up so that the public has no clue of what is happening.
In Sicily, the great Hungarian opera composer, Tibor Vida, is trying to overcome a recent romantic betrayal and create his next great work. He meets a lovely Hungarian woman, a journalist, with whom he quickly becomes infatuated. She convinces him to buy a lovely old sketch at a local auction. Suddenly, they find themselves pursued by dangerous individuals through the Italian countryside.
Part romantic-comedy and part adventure, this light hearted story is set sometime between the World Wars.
My Thoughts
This book was first published in 1949 by the renowned Hungarian author, Miklos Banffy. This is the first time it has been translated into English. In Hungarian, it was published with the title Milolu, which is the nickname Tibor Vida gave to his lover, Milla Anderson.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I picked it up, but from the first page I was hooked. It is much funnier than I had anticipated it would be, and the writing style is very accessible. I confess I was expecting a somewhat heavier story, not something so playful. There were some not so subtle digs at politicians and those who abuse their power, but that wasn’t the focus.
At the heart of the story was the rather remarkable Mrs. Milla Anderson, a divorced woman working for the newspaper in Budapest. She is bright, independent, intuitive, patient, quick-thinking, and courageous. Tibor Vida, though a gifted musician, is ultimately rather dim-witted. The romance between the two is absurd, and because much of the story is told from Tibor’s point of view through his diary, it adds a great deal to the comedy.
In Sicily, the great Hungarian opera composer, Tibor Vida, is trying to overcome a recent romantic betrayal and create his next great work. He meets a lovely Hungarian woman, a journalist, with whom he quickly becomes infatuated. She convinces him to buy a lovely old sketch at a local auction. Suddenly, they find themselves pursued by dangerous individuals through the Italian countryside.
Part romantic-comedy and part adventure, this light hearted story is set sometime between the World Wars.
My Thoughts
This book was first published in 1949 by the renowned Hungarian author, Miklos Banffy. This is the first time it has been translated into English. In Hungarian, it was published with the title Milolu, which is the nickname Tibor Vida gave to his lover, Milla Anderson.
I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when I picked it up, but from the first page I was hooked. It is much funnier than I had anticipated it would be, and the writing style is very accessible. I confess I was expecting a somewhat heavier story, not something so playful. There were some not so subtle digs at politicians and those who abuse their power, but that wasn’t the focus.
At the heart of the story was the rather remarkable Mrs. Milla Anderson, a divorced woman working for the newspaper in Budapest. She is bright, independent, intuitive, patient, quick-thinking, and courageous. Tibor Vida, though a gifted musician, is ultimately rather dim-witted. The romance between the two is absurd, and because much of the story is told from Tibor’s point of view through his diary, it adds a great deal to the comedy.
September 9, 2024
A fun little read! I would classify this as the perfect vacation read or palate cleanser. Short and easily consumed and digested, I was actually a bit disappointed by this one. The only other works I've read by Bánffy (the Transylvanian Trilogy) were so superb that perhaps I was expecting too much. This one is a very straightforward (some might say too straightforward) combination travelogue/mystery. What's going on with this stolen painting? Well, let's find out as we travel the Italian countryside! The travel bits were fun - as always, I delight in seeing through the eyes of someone in a far-away land in a far-away time! - but the characters were pretty flat and the primary narrator's voice was positively grating! Oh how grateful I was when reading sections of the book that were not his diaries! Still though, this book wasn't all bad. Yes, there was very little suspense or surprise to be found. Yes, the characters were a bit dull. But I still enjoyed reading this one and it was over soon enough. But if this is your first of Bánffy and you find yourself underwhelmed? Please know that he wrote books much better than this. Perhaps this was just a small fun project for him to relax him in the midst of his own troubles? Perhaps. My favourite part of the book was the biographical bit at the end!
July 2, 2024
The Remarkable Mrs. Anderson is an art theft novel, with a romantic affair thrown in. It is, essentially, "cute", but nowhere near as clever or as complex as other writers of this type like Agatha Christie. However, it is a nice read for a vacation.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews