Black Diamonds

A solitary explorer steers a boat across a dark pool beneath a coal mine, studying fossils, crystals and the strange rhythm of the rising water. Mór Jókai opens Black Diamonds with this dangerous underground investigation, where a safety lamp and close observation stand between the searcher and disaster. The English translation by Frances A. Gerard brings together scientific curiosity, mining life and the rivalries of a Hungarian novel.

Above ground, the social world has hazards of its own. In Pesth, Marquis Salista boasts to club acquaintances about a coming duel with Ivan, a learned man whose skill and standing the marquis dismisses. The contrast between the cavern and the club gives readers two distinct kinds of tension: the effort to understand natural forces and the pressure of pride, rank and reputation. Readers interested in fiction about industry and class will find these concerns expressed through detailed scenes and sharply competing voices.