Rakes of the Old Court

Widely regarded as the greatest Romanian novel of the twentieth century, Mateiu Caragiale's Rakes of the Old Court (Craii de Curtea-Veche) follows four characters through the bars and brothels of Bucharest. Guided by an amoral opportunist, the shadowy narrator and his two affluent friends drink and gamble their way through a city built on the ruins of crumbled castles and bygone empires. The novel's shimmering, spectacular prose describes gripping vignettes of love, ambition, and decay.

Originally published in 1929, Rakes of the Old Court is considered a jewel of Romanian modernism. Devoted "Mateists" have long read, memorized, and reenacted the novel, and after the Romanian Revolution, it became part of the high school curriculum. Now canonical, Mateiu's work has been celebrated for its opulent literary style and enigmatic tone.


Author: Mateiu I. Caragiale
Publisher: Northwestern University Press
Published: 08/15/2021
Pages: 136
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.41lbs
Size: 8.51h x 5.59w x 0.41d
ISBN13: 9780810142251
ISBN10: 0810142252
BISAC Categories:
- Fiction | Classics

About the Author
MATEIU CARAGIALE (1885-1936) was a Romanian writer of fiction and poetry. The illegitimate son of prominent playwright Ion Luca Caragiale, Mateiu had a contentious relationship with his family. Heavily influenced by Edgar Allan Poe, his works describe characters of uncertain ancestry, airs of fog and mystery, and plots of decadence and abasement.

SEAN COTTER is a professor of literature and translation studies at the University of Texas at Dallas.