Zoltán Ambrus

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Zoltán Ambrus (February 22, 1861 in Debrecen - February 28, 1932 in Budapest) was a Hungarian writer and translator.

He completed gymnasium (high school) in Debrecen and Budapest and then studied law in Budapest. At the age of 18, his father died leaving him responsible for his family. He tutored and wrote theater criticism and articles for the publications Fővárosi Lapok, Pesti Napló, and Budapesti Szemle. He worked at Hungarian Mortgage Bank and friend László Arany encouraged his literary pursuits.

In 1885, he moved to Paris where he studied literature at the College de France and the Sorbonne. He became a contributor to A Hét on his return to Pest, Hungary and wrote a substantial quantity of short stories. In 1900, he became editor of Új Magyar Szemle and wrote some pieces for Nyugat.

He was the director of the National Theater between 1917 and 1922.

[edit] Work

He wrote about the urban setting of Hungary in his work. His novel Midás király (1906) is a key psychological work.

He translated a substantial amount of French literature including Flaubert, Cherbuliez, Maupassant, Anatole France, and Balzac.