Reflections on the Polanyis’ Mystique: A Review Article of Gareth Dale. Karl Polanyi: A Life on the Left. New York: Columbia UP. 2016 and Judit Szapor. A világhírű Polányiak: Egy elfelejtett család regényes története (Those World Famous Polanyis: Tales of a Long Forgotten Family). Budapest: Aura kiadó. 2017.

Abstract

The Polanyis came to prominence in the capital cities of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Vienna and Budapest) when words mattered, culture was not a four-letter word and Austro-Hungary was territorially the second-largest and the third most populous entity in Europe. The review examines how two recent biographies about members of the Polanyi family treat their protagonists and the forces that shaped their lives after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Keywords

• Austro-Hungary
• the linguistic turn
• capitalism
• feminism
• socialism
• Karl Polanyi
• Michael Polanyi
• Laura Polanyi