Mária Szepes, 99 - Hungarian Author/Actress
Yersinia Pestis
died on Monday 09/03/07 at the age of 99.
She studied art history, philosophy, psychology and biology in Berlin
and she wrote several books including: A Vörös Oroszlán (1946 - The
Red Lion - The Elixir of Eternal Love), Tükörajtó a tengerben (1976 -
Mirror Door in the Sea), Lázadó szerepek (1985 - Rebellious Roles) and
Mars szekere (1999 - The Cart of Mars).
Her writings also include children's literature: the Pöttyös Panni-
novels (1953-73 - Dotted Doris), Táltos Marci (1979 - Marty the
Sorcerer), Boróka néni kincse (1979 - Aunt Boróka's Treasure) and she
is the author of the picture book entitled Eleven (1983 - Lively).
Her spiritual volumes include: The Magic of Everyday Life (1989),
Pszichografológia (1990 - Psychographology), A sors és csoda mágiája
(1995 - The Magic of Fate and Miracle), A lélek anatómiája (2002 - The
Anatomy of the Soul). Several of her works were translated into
different languages: German, English, Polish, Spanish and Italian
among others.
The Red Lion was written in a hideout during World War II and became a
worldwide bestseller of esoteric literature. At the time of its
initial publishing, it was banned by the Communist government and all
copies were ordered destroyed. A few copies were hidden away and later
transcribed and sent out to a German publisher. The Red Lion was re-
issued and became an instant classic during Europe's "Velvet
Revolution".
She was born in 1908 as Magdolna Scherbach into a Hungarian family of
theater stars in Budapest. Her father, Sándor Papir, was a bon vivant
and great star of the Budapest stage, her mother was a prima donna.
>From 1916 to 1933 she appeared as a film actress (mostly under the
name Magda Papir). One year after her marriage , she followed her
husband Béla Szepes to Berlin, where they lived until Hungary's
Anschluß towards the war's end. In her book "Magic of Love", Szepes
tells of the so-called "Alchemistic Marriage", the dissolution of the
ego in the other.
She was a life member of the Hungarian Writers' Association and she
received both the Arany Meteor (Golden Meteor) Award and the Arany
János Award for her lifetime achievements.