When Gustav Mahler was appointed conductor of the Budapest Royal Opera in 1888, he made himself so widely hated that two of the tenors challenged him to a duel. It is not clear how, if there were two of them and only one of him, it could be called a duel, but it sounds as though one of Mahler was more than enough for anybody. Sebestyen’s history of Budapest is full of such fascinating facts: every other page includes a lengthy footnote as an aside.
The first 60-odd pages are taken up with a brisk summary of early Hungarian history; paradoxically, the book only really comes alive with the Battle of Mohács, in 1526, when Budapest was largely destroyed by the Ottoman army. The narrative swings back and forth between the broad sweep of Hungary’s past and the almost tangible sense of the city: its streets, its people and its cafés – where the revolution of 1848 began and the words of the national anthem were written. The book ends with 1989, the fall of communism and the emergence of a young firebrand named Viktor Orbán. For anyone seeking background on Hungary’s recent history, this is an excellent place to start.
By Alix Kroeger
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