The author, Albert Wass de Czege, was himself a victim of the strife endured by the people of Transylvania. Wass Albert, as he is called in Hungary, was born and raised in Transylvania as part of an aristocratic family who owned large tracts of land. After World War I, the land was seized when Transylvania was traded from Hungary to Romania.While this book is not autobiographical, there are very close parallels to his own life and it is emblematic of the tragic struggles Albert Wass endured and witnessed. He emigrated to the United States in 1951 and died in February of 1998 in Astor, Florida.To this day he is considered a hero by his countrymen who revere him as their country's greatest author. During his lifetime, he was an acclaimed novelist and poet, and admired for his wisdom, wit and charm. His poetry and novels are required reading in the public schools of his home country, Hungary.
