In the Godforsaken Hinterlands: A Tale of Provincial Hungary

In the Godforsaken Hinterlands (Az Isten háta mögött) represents a uniquely Hungarian take on the adultery theme developed in Gustave Flaubert's wildly popular Madame Bovary from 1856. Writing half a century later, in 1911, Zsigmond Móricz introduces surprising innovations into his narration of a bored teacher's wife and her oblivious husband, making In the Godforsaken Hinterlands a classic in its own right. The stultifying atmosphere of semi-feudal Hungary finds telling expression in the fictional town of Ilosva where the novel is set.