About the book: 1967 / Kálmán Mikszáth (1847―1910) is one of the most prominent Hungarian writers of the 19th–20th centuries. The third volume of the collected works of Kalman Miksat includes the novels “The Siege of Besterce” (“Beszterce ostroma”, 1894) and “The Umbrella of St. Peter” (“Szent Péter esernyője”, 1895). “The Siege of Besterce” is a very funny and unusually caustic work. It is inhabited by strange people who have forgotten what time they live in. The half-mad Count Istvan Pongrats is trying to restore feudal traditions and the former glory of the family with his sword. The story described in the book is at the same time anecdotal: the zealot of hoary antiquity - the new Hungarian “Don Quixote” - is starting a real war against the authorities, and sad: he is just a lonely rock, a doomed fragment in the muddy waves of dishonesty and money-grubbing. “The Umbrella of St. Peter” - this is the story of how the rich man Pal Gregorich, trying to provide for his illegitimate son and fearing greedy relatives, hides his huge fortune in the handle of an old umbrella. However, his son Dury does not find happiness in wealth. While looking for an umbrella, he meets a true treasure - the lovely Veronka... Illustrations: artist B. Sveshnikov.