Zsigmond Móricz (1879-1942), one of the leading Hungarian writers of the 20th century, was born into a poor peasant family. He became famous overnight as a writer of distinctive short stories when his autobiographical story `Seven Pennies` appeared in the periodical Nyugat in 1908. Hailed by the critics as his most important novel, relations (1932) paints a striking portrait of the provincial society that he knew so well. It is a tale of the nepotism and corruption that ensnare István Kopjáss; High office is thrust upon him, but he finds himself dragged into
a network of shady deals and is driven, his idealism shattered, to attempt sucide. Like Móricz`s other work, Relations is marked by direct language,
incisive characterisation, and its author`s passionate realism and patriorism.