St. Peter's Umbrella

An orphaned child and an old red umbrella draw the reader into the village world of Kálmán Mikszáth's Hungarian novel. Little Veronica is sent to Glogova, where her older brother has just become the priest of a poor mountain parish. Her home village arranges her care with a mixture of kindness, practical worries and officious orders. The umbrella acquires a sacred reputation, while questions of property and inheritance give ordinary objects an unexpected importance.

Later, Gyuri Wibra arrives at Rosália's shop asking to inspect its secondhand umbrellas, much to the astonishment of the local mayor. Such encounters make small community life part of the story's humor: public pride, gossip and personal interests all crowd into a simple transaction. Readers can follow the search for the umbrella while enjoying a narrator who notices both the generosity and the absurdities of village society. B. W. Worswick translates the novel into English.