A Magyarországon élő holland író nagy sikerű könyvének angol nyelvű kiadása. Az interjúkon alapuló dokumentumregény az egykori erdélyi arisztokrácia sorsának - megpróbáltatásainak, szétszórattatásának - története.

In the darkness of the early morning of 3 March 1949, practically all of the Transylvanian aristocracy were arrested in their beds and loaded into lor- ries. That same day the Romanian Workers' Party was pleased to announce the successful deportation and dispossession of all large landowners. Com- munism demanded the destruction of these ultimate class enemies. Under the terror of Gheorghiu-Dej and later Ceauşescu the aristocracy led a double life: during the day they worked in quarries, steelworks and carpenters' yards; in the evening they gathered secretly and maintained the rituals of an older world.
To record this unknown episode of recent history, Jaap Scholten travelled extensively in Romania and Hungary and sought out the few remaining aris- tocrats who experienced the night of 3 March 1949. He spoke to people who survived the Romanian Gulag and met the youngest generation of the once so distinguished aristocracy to talk about the restitution of assets and about the future. How is it possible to rebuild anything in a country that finds itself in a moral vacuum?
'An extraordinary, passionate and important work.' Jury, Libris History Prize
Shortlisted for the Bob den Uyl Prize for best travel book 2011
Winner of the Libris History Prize 2011