The Creative Writer

The core of this chapter is an analysis of the literary ambitions László pursued in the period leading up to World War I. The greatest influences on his literary output were the work of Karl May and the sort of typically Central European literary creations that postcolonial scholars now regard as symbolic expressions of Austro-Hungarian colonialism. László’s novellas are characterized by the clichés of European orientalism and romantic pseudo-mythology. László’s most important literary character was a globetrotter he based on himself—a hunter and journalist who tours the Balkans, Anatolia, the Middle East, and North Africa. László’s writing conveys the self-assurance of the Austro-Hungarian intellectuals who believed in the Dual Monarchy’s potential to become a colonial power.