The private life of István Széchenyi

Those who only know Széchenyi as a statue, and those who constantly refer to him and quote from him, can now get to know a slightly different Széchenyi from the pages of this book. They can read the story of the little man hidden inside the big man, not the big man. The one who, despite his inherited diseases, fought with incredible energy for noble public goals, but in the meantime he also had another life, barely known to the world. He was the one who arranged a love scandal even in his own family, who clashed with everyone who represented power. Who was both a Hungarian patriot and an ardent friend of the Austrian ruling house. He who was ultimately left alone between these two affections was hurled curses at him from both sides. The one who demanded a rope for Kossuth, then became his fellow minister in the government. He was watched by secret police almost all his life, and who finally found a place of refuge at the end of his life due to almost breaking out of his mind, from where he could continue his strange fight. Széchenyi, the private man, was very different from the person we learn about in school. This book is both a revealing and uplifting read, full of secrets and surprising details.