150th anniversary of the birth of Ladislav Nádaši-Jégé

€10 silver collector coin

Ladislav Nádaši-Jégé (12 February 1866 – 2 July 1940) was one of the central figures of Slovak literature in the interwar period and a leading exponent of Slovak literary naturalism. In the first phase of his writing, during the late 1880s and 1890s, he produced satirical prose works including Žart (Joke), Vada (Defect), Výhody spoločenského života (The upsides of social life), Omyl (Error), Kúra (Cure), and Pomsta (Revenge). His second phase, covering the 1920s and 1930s, was marked by a tendency towards historicism and by a gradual shift away from short stories and novellas to novels. Among the notable works from this time were Wieniawského legenda (Wieniawski’s legend, 1922), Adam Šangala (1924), Kuruci (1925), Magister rytier Donč (Knight Donč the Magister, 1926), Horymír (1926), and Svätopluk (1928). Besides prose, Nádaši-Jégé wrote plays, articles on health awareness and works of literary journalism. In the novel Cesta životom (Journey through life, 1930), he returned to a more contemporary topic – the petit bourgeoisie of Slovak society from the 1890s to 1918 – through which he elaborated his pessimistic and ironic perception of the world. His later work also featured humorous prose centred on village life.