The Red Lion: The Elixir of Eternal Life

Conceived amidst the horrors and hellfire of the Second World War, Mria Szepes' novel about a man's search for the Elixir of Life offered a glimpse of hope at a time of con-flagration. By giving a broad cosmic perspective to the events touching the lives of everyone in Europe in those years, she put human existence in a broader scale extending beyond daily life and put forth a reason for existence within the entirety of the Universe. After the war this remarkable book was published in Budapest but was soon banned by the government. Following decades of hibernation, like the Phoenix rising from its ashes, it took on a new life. It was translated into German and, in 1984, became "Book of the Month" in Germany. Then in 1985 it won fourth place in the prestigious Fritz Lasswitz award as the most interesting foreign novel. That year it was republished in Hungary, and altogether in Europe more than 300,000 copies have been sold.