Her subsequent novels and short stories, with their careful, elegant and almost classic design and with their power to give penetrating insights into the self, proved to be highly successful in presenting the lives of humiliated, lonely and desperate female characters badly in need of love.

From the late 1970s, her works made a more philosophical approach. Her artistic goal was a quest for valid answers to the eternal question of human existence. A common feature in her work was the fight against human indifference. Her style was called spiritual realism.

Jókai has written some 35 novels, essays and volumes of poems, which have been published in several languages. She was a strong supporter of the writing profession. From 1990 to 1992 she served as president of the Hungarian Writers’ Union.

Her long list of honours was topped by a Kossuth Grand Prize in 2014, awarded in recognition of her lifework and her eminent representation of the national and Christian branch of urban literature. In the same year she was granted the Artist of the Nation title.

Republished with permission of Hungary Matters, MTI’s daily newsletter.

MTI Photo: Mohai Balázs