Villette and The Professor in Hungary

Villette

Ilona Róna (1904-199?) translated many books, for instance of Jane Austen, Wiliam Makepeace Thackeray and Gore Vidal, and also from other languages. Villette was her only Brontë translation. It is the only Hungarian translation of the novel. It first appeared in 1967, twice, published by Európa from Budapest (566 pp.).

Cover of the first 1967 Hungarian
Villette

Cover of the second 1967 Hungarian
Villette

The third and four editions, published in 1969 and 1973 (by the same publisher; 586 and 537 pp. respectively) had the same cover as the second edition. In 1974 it was again published, in two volumes (319 and 334 pp.), together with Charlotte’s Henry Hastings, by the same publisher, as well as in two other 1974 editions with both stories, firstly by Európa  and Alföldi Ny from Debrecen. and secondly by Európa, Alföldi Ny and Madách Kiadó from Bratislava (Slovakia).

Covers of the 1974 Hungarian
Villette/Henry Hastings

The eight edition was published in 1985, again by Európa (665 pp.).

Cover of the 1985 Hungarian
Villette

The ninth edition was published in 2005 by Palatinus from Budapest (696 pp.).

Cover of the 2005 Hungarian
Villette
(Painting: Richard Redgrave -
The Governess (1844))

In 2007 it was published again, this time by Ulpius from Budapest, in two volumes (460 and 367 pp.).

Covers of the 2007 Hungarian Villette

The eleventh and for now last edition of Róna’s translation was published in 2012, by Lazi from Sgezed (492 pp.).

Cover of the 2012 Hungarian Villette
(Painting above: Charles Haigh
Wood - Fair deceivers (1897))

The Professor
The year 1874 saw the first Hungarian translation of The Professor. It was published by Stein from Koloszvar, with the title A tanár : regény (The teacher, a novel; 432 pp.), a translation by Julianna Szász.
The second translation, A különös tanítvány (A special student), by Geyza Bányai, György Gellért and Ernő Hárs had three editions. The first two were published in 1992 and 1993 by Nesztor from Budapest (216 pp.) and had the same cover.

Cover of the 1992-3 A különös tanítvány 

The third edition was published in 2006 by Ulpius from Budapest (359 pp.).

Cover of the 2006 A különös tanítvány 

Az angoltanár (The teacher of English), the third translation, by Gerda Barcza, was published by Lazi from Sgezed (260 pp.) in 2004 and 2006, with the same cover.

Cover of the 2004/06 Az angoltanár
(Painting: Jean Béraud (1848-1935) -
L'attente)

The other Brontë novels
The first Hungarian translation of Jane Eyre dates from 1873. Wuthering Heights was first published in this language in 1940. Both novels had many editions in Hungarian. The first Hungarian Shirley was published in 1975, the first Agnes Grey in 1984 and the first The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in 1985.

Eric Ruijssenaars