Viktor Garády: La letteratura dell’infanzia dell’autore fiumano e il caso del “furto d’autore” di Pinocchio

Abstract

Within children’s literature, which is a vast literary genre it is not always easy to give a precise definition, we find Viktor Garády (Vittorio De Gauss), a writer from Fiume who became a Hungarian citizen and was active between the historical period of the late nineteenth century and the years preceding the Second World War. This study aims to analyse, define and outline, starting from the concept of children’s literature, Garády’s literary work which can be divided into two categories: one purely scientific-didactic and one patriotic-propagandistic, with the idea of Fiume as a Hungarian port at its centre. It also aims to highlight one of his first production of children’s literature: Fajankó. The work it is a clear reference to the story of Pinocchio by our Italian author Collodi, but is never identified as a first Hungarian translation of our work: is it, therefore, a case of plagiarism or a rewritten work? The article wants to identify the similarities and differences also through the comparison of parts of the two works.