11 h 59 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 11 h 59 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What is love worth in a mountain land where rank rules hearts and a man's word means everything?
In 'Midst the Wild Carpathians, Mór Jókai takes you into late seventeenth-century Transylvania, a small principality between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg crown. Mountain forts, noble families and rival courts fill a world where political pressure reaches into private lives.
At the heart of this historical romance, love struggles against rank and duty. Proud people guard their honor through danger and intrigue, while the Carpathians rise around them, beautiful and sometimes menacing. Jókai brings together the demands of society and the force of feeling in a landscape that seems almost alive.
What you’ll discover
- Love against rank Enter a romance where deep feeling must contend with the rules of a proud society.
- Honor under pressure Discover a world where a man's word is his most valuable possession.
- Between great powers Explore a small mountain principality caught between the Ottoman Empire and the Habsburg crown.
- Mountains with a presence Feel the beauty and menace of the Carpathians through Jókai's rich, painterly descriptions.
- A bold Hungarian romance Step among noble families, mountain forts and rival courts in an adventure drawn in bright colors.
Who will love it
Readers who like historical novels full of real princes, pashas and magnates will enjoy it, as will anyone drawn to strong heroines, court politics and mountain scenery.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A hunt in the swamp forest kills a hero
- Anna Bornemissa buys her husband back
- A shy squire is made Prince at Kis-Selyk
- A banquet, a kiss, and a Turkish family at Bodola
- A small Turkish army wins and Anna wins Klausenburg
- A Turkish beauty, a poet-clerk, and the Devil's Garden
- Banfi rides high and takes on both Turk and Prince
- The league against Banfi forms in secret
- Law, jealousy and the women who stand in the way
- A storyteller's voice, wild nature and many moods
Who’s who
- Michael ApafiA gentle country squire and book lover who is made Prince of Transylvania by Turkish order, and who longs only for a quiet home.
- Anna BornemissaApafi's wife, a strong and clear-sighted woman who frees her husband from captivity and then tries to guide and protect him as ruler.
- Denis BanfiA magnificent, hot-tempered magnate and Marshal of the Diet who fights the Turks and defends his freedom, and will bow to no one.
- Margaret BanfiBanfi's frail and devoted wife, who pines for his love and finds unexpected courage when his life is in danger.
- Paul BeldiCaptain-General of the Szeklers, an honorable man who wants peace for Transylvania but carries a secret wound of jealousy.
- Michael TelekiThe Prince's bald, sober minister, learned and patient, who wants war for the Hungarian exiles and a way to remove his rivals.
- AzraelA beautiful and restless Turkish favorite who loves power more than any master, and who is hidden in the Devil's Garden.
- ClementA vain and dreamy poet turned patrol officer, who wants only to write epics and keep his borrowed green boots.
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'Midst the Wild Carpathians
by Mór Jókai · 1852
A reluctant prince, a proud magnate and a scheming minister struggle for the fate of Transylvania.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What does a prince do when he never wanted the crown? Michael Apafi is a quiet country squire who loves his books and his fruit trees.
'Midst the Wild Carpathians at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 20 min5 h fast, 7 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 90,200 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1852by Mór Jókai
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A hunt in the swamp forest kills a hero
The novel opens in 1666 in the swamp forests of the Drave valley, where thousand-year-old trees stand in water and no road runs. Their lord is Nicolas Zrinyi, a broad-shouldered soldier and poet who believes Fortune loves him. He rides out with his niece Helen and a bald, watchful man whose face the narrator tells you to study.
He leaps a wide chasm after a stag, and only Helen and one young companion dare to follow. At the meal, the bald man toasts that God keep the Turks in good spirits. Zrinyi, who has fought them all his life, knocks over his glass.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1852
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Jókai, Mór. 'Midst the Wild Carpathians. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/midst-the-wild-carpathians.
Jókai, M. (2026). 'Midst the wild Carpathians. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/midst-the-wild-carpathians (Original work published 1852)
Jókai, Mór. 'Midst the Wild Carpathians. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/midst-the-wild-carpathians.
@book{jokai2026midst,
author = {Jókai, Mór},
title = {'Midst the Wild Carpathians},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/midst-the-wild-carpathians},
note = {First published 1852}
}
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What is Midst the Wild Carpathians about?
It tells of seventeenth-century Transylvania, where the quiet squire Michael Apafi is made Prince by Turkish order. It follows his clever wife Anna, the proud magnate Denis Banfi and the scheming minister Michael Teleki as they struggle over war, peace and the law.
Is Midst the Wild Carpathians a true story?
It is a historical novel by Mór Jókai. Many people and events are real, such as Apafi, Banfi, Teleki, Zrinyi and the battle of Nagy Szöllös, while scenes, dialogue and characters like Clement and Azrael are the author's invention and storytelling.
Who is Denis Banfi in the novel?
Banfi is the Marshal of the Diet and the most powerful lord in Transylvania. He is generous to his vassals and brave in battle against the Turks, but proud, quick to anger and unwilling to give way to the Prince or his rivals.
The author
Mór Jókai
1825–1904 · Hungarian novelist
Mór Jókai was a Hungarian novelist, short-story writer and journalist. He was born in Komárom in 1825 and died in Budapest in 1904. He wrote in Hungarian and published novels throughout the nineteenth century. His novels include The Golden Man, published in 1872. He also wrote plays.
More by Mór Jókai
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