Language and Literature paper by Varga, Zsuzsanna
The Memoirs of a Hungarian Lady: Theresa Pulszky in Vienna, Szécsény and London
Type of Abstract (select):Abstract (max. 250 words):
My presentation sets out to examine the life and work of Theresa Pulszky, the wife of Kossuth’s diplomatic envoy Ferenc Pulszky, whose authorial persona came to be remembered as a‘Hungarian lady,’ as she fashioned herself in her memoir of 1849. Although their books were signed as co-written by Ferenc and Theresa, her person and work deserves particular attention for her important role in serving the cause of the 1848-49 revolution with her pen: her memoir and the three-volume publications Tales and Traditions of Hungary and Red, White, Black in the early 1850s make a significant contribution spreading knowledge about Hungary but also about the New World. Her role as the female émigré writer was instrumental in establishing a number of interconnected phenomena including the role of the female literary author and transmitter of knowledge between Central Europe and the Anglophone world.
Brief Professional Bio (max. 100 words):
Zsuzsanna Varga studied English, Hungarian and Portuguese language and literature at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest. She received her PhD in nineteenth-century English literature at Edinburgh University. She has taught and researched at different British universities, including the University of Essex, University College London, and De Montfort University. She has taught Hungarian Studies at Glasgow U. since 2008, and she is also in charge of the Hungarian library collection at the U. of Oxford. Her research interests include nineteenth-century women’s writing, travel writing and translation history. She serves as Section Editor for Hungarian Cultural Studies, e-Journal of the AHEA. zsuzsanna.varga@glasgow.ac.uk