Bella Nagy

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Bella Nagy
A young white woman with dark curls, smiling, hands together under her chin; she is wearing light-colored lacy clothes including a headpiece, and several bracelets
Bella Nagy, photographed in 1899
Born
Bella Grósz

4 July 1879
Jákó, Hungary
Died30 January 1947
Amersham, Buckinghamshire, UK
Other namesJókainé Nagy Bella
OccupationActress
Spouse(s)Mór Jókai (m. 1899-1904)

Bella Nagy (4 July 1879 – 30 January 1947), born Bella Grósz, was a Hungarian actress, and second wife of writer Mór Jókai.

Early life[]

Bella Grósz was born in Jákó, Hungary, the daughter of Móric Grósz and Éva Flamm. Her family was Jewish;[1][2] her father was a mechanic. She graduated from a commercial school in Óbuda before pursuing an interest in the theatre, attending the Rákosi Szidi acting school.

Career[]

Nagy had her stage debut in 1898, and performed in several works by Mór Jókai before she married the writer in 1899 in Budapest.[3] Their 54-year age difference (he was 74, and she was 20), plus their religious differences, caused a scandal, and his family tried to have him declared incompetent.[1][4] She left the stage reluctantly, and attempted a comeback in 1901,[5] but continued in the public eye as Jókai's wife.[6] After his death, she was his sole heir, outraging other claimants and causing further scandal and prolonged legal battles; she lost those battles, and was left without support from Jókai's estate.[7][8][9]

In 1912, Nagy donated Jókai's books and papers to the Hungarian National Museum in exchange for a life pension.[10][11]

Personal life[]

Nagy married writer Mór Jókai in 1899,[12] as his second wife; they honeymooned in Sicily. His first wife, Róza Laborfalvi, was also an actress.[13] Nagy was widowed when Jókai died in 1904;[14][15] she never remarried.[1] She moved to England in the 1939, to flee the Nazis and to arrange for an English-language edition of her husband's works. She lost her life pension in 1942, when Germany pressured Hungary to cease payments.[11] She died in 1947, in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, aged 67 years.[16]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Koerner, András (2016-11-01). How They Lived 2: The Everyday Lives of Hungarian Jews, 1867-1940: Family, Religious, and Social Life, Learning, Military Life, Vacationing, Sports, Charity. Central European University Press. pp. 64, 67. ISBN 978-963-386-176-9.
  2. ^ "Jokai's Romance". The American Israelite. 1899-11-16. pp. P6. Retrieved 2021-04-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Jókai, Mór (2019-12-03). Tales From Jókai. Good Press.
  4. ^ Jókai, Mór; Nemo, August (2020-05-09). Essential Novelists - Mór Jókai: reality and personal experience. Tacet Books. ISBN 978-3-96858-621-2.
  5. ^ "Aged Maurice Jokai's Young Wife to Resume Career as a Star". Boston Post. 1901-11-08. p. 2. Retrieved 2021-04-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Brown, Curtis (1903-04-19). "Strange Sequels of an Octogenarian's Love Story". The Courier-Journal. p. 39. Retrieved 2021-04-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Legarde, Marie (1904-09-11). "Wife and Daughter Fight for the Fortune of Jokai". The Saint Paul Globe. p. 37. Retrieved 2021-04-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Bitter Contest is Being Waged Over Estate Left by Great Hungarian Novelist". The San Francisco Call. 1904-10-09. p. 17. Retrieved 2021-04-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Jokai's Widow in Need". The Spokesman-Review. 1911-04-16. p. 39. Retrieved 2021-04-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Jokai's Widow Wants Pension". The West Schuylkill Press and Pine Grove Herald. 1911-05-13. p. 3. Retrieved 2021-04-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ a b "Warring on Women". The Kingston Daily Freeman. 1942-12-02. p. 4. Retrieved 2021-04-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Frau Maurus Jokai". Über Land und Meer (in German). 83: 34. October 1899.
  13. ^ "Romance of Maurus Jokai; He wrote 16 Books and had a Story of His Own". The Saint Paul Globe. 1904-05-22. p. 25. Retrieved 2021-04-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "The late Maurus Jokai, the Great Hungarian Patriot and Novelist, with his Wife". The Bystander. 2: 673. 18 May 1904.
  15. ^ "Great Hungarian Poet Passes Away". Quad-City Times. 1904-05-06. p. 12. Retrieved 2021-04-08 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office. © Crown copyright. via Ancestry
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