Szomory (Weisz), Dezső
SZOMORY (Weisz), DEZSŐ
SZOMORY (Weisz ), DEZSŐ (1869–1944), Hungarian author and playwright. Born in Budapest, Szomory studied music and, while still a child, played before Liszt. In 1890 he deserted from the army and fled to Paris, where he lived until 1906, earning his living as a foreign correspondent. While in Paris, he was considered a disciple of the contemporary naturalist movement, but he only developed as a writer after returning to Hungary. Szomory evolved an elaborate and at times overelegant and artificial style in the decadent fin-desiècle tradition. One of Szomory's outstanding prose works was A párizsi regény ("Paris Romance," 1929). He also dealt with Jewish subjects, especially Jewish provincial life, but most of his works about Jews, such as the drama Péntek este ("Friday Night," 1896), were aimed at Jewish readers only. A successful dramatist, he wrote plays on social problems, themes also reflected in his historical plays. His works include the short story collection Elbukottak ("Those Who Failed," 1892); Az isteni kert ("Divine Garden," 1910), A pékné ("The Baker's Wife," 1916), and Levelek egy baratnőmhöz ("Letters to a Lady Friend," 1927). His plays included Bella (1913), Takáts Alice (1930), and Szegedy Annie (1931).
bibliography:
Magyar Zsidó Lexikon (1929), 867–8; Magyar Irodalmi Lexikon, 3 (1965), 273–6 (incl. bibl.).
[Baruch Yaron]