The Nabob figure is a Hungarian potentate of vast estates, who lives amidst a crowd of retainers, wassailing companions, women, gamblers, fools, and gypsies.
The plot relates to the intrigues of his dissolute heir and his marriage with a young girl which serves to baffle them.
Mór Jókai -- also known as Maurus Jokai -- was a Hungarian dramatist and novelist. He originally studied law and became an advocate in what is now Budapest. Encouraged by the reception of his first play,
The Jewish Boy
, he turned to writing, producing Working Days, and becoming editor of
Életképek
, the leading Hungarian literary journal. Following a revolution and the deposition of the Hapsburg dynasty, he became a political suspect. He spent the next fourteen years reviving the Magyar language, producing thirty romances and numerous other works. After the re-establishment of the Hungarian Constitution, he sat in parliament for twenty years, founded and edited the government organ
Hon
, and was later elevated to the upper house by the king.