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The Spectator ● September 30, 2016

Page 7

Features ‘The Cemetery Responds!’ Dr. Mandler on Publishing His Newest Book By Vincent Jiang

it would have been a drastically worse publication. In retrospect, sometimes it is better to wait than to rush it through.” After finally getting the Hungarian version of his book in print, Dr. Mandler was ready to “go to sleep,” as he put it. In fact, he wasn’t expecting to find another publisher so easily, given the struggles he had faced. But one day, he stumbled upon another publishing company, Lexington Books, which he found interesting, and, on a whim, he sent off a proposal. “I wasn’t even looking necessarily for the English version anymore, because you tend to give up after so many rejections,” he said. But, surprisingly, the publishing company accepted his offer immediately. This time, members of the Stuyvesant community helped out: Technology teacher Joel Winston, who touched up the cover photo, and English teacher Rosa Mazzurco, who made suggestions for the cover. After a bit more work revising and adding new details, the book was published in July 2016. “Arminius Vambéry” was his first book published by an outside company. Dr. Mandler has also written and self-published a short story called “The Loft,” which is based on the stories of the patients in the hospital where his grandparents spent their last years. Though English teacher Kim Manning has read and reviewed the story, not many students know about it.

The book felt heavy in my hands. Its title, “Arminius Vambéry and the British Empire,” accented the cover’s image of the peculiarly dressed man himself. I assumed the maroon and white hardcover was freshly printed for its author, English teacher Dr. David Mandler, and was laid on his desk for others to observe. When I learned that Dr. Mandler sometimes uses his book as a pillow, I laughed, and all my irrational fears of corrupting the newness of the book vanished. Even if it was worth $80, it was obviously meant to be used, read, and maybe even slept on. “Arminius Vambéry” is a biography about a Jewish Hungarian scholar who was well-versed in Asian and Turkish languages. The book details Vambéry’s adventures across Central Asia and Europe. Disguised as a Muslim haji, Vambéry explored the Ottoman empire, learning about the culture and the government. As a result, he served as a bridge of communication between the British Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

Researching “Vambéry”

Some 15 years ago, the name Vambéry meant little to Dr. Mandler. It was only when he was working on a graduate paper on “Dracula” author Bram Stoker that he stumbled upon Vambéry’s name. Stoker and Vambéry corresponded while Stoker was working on “Dracula.” Dr. Mandler was drawn to Vambéry, since Vambéry was able to achieve a notable status in Great Britain for fifty years. Curious to learn more, Dr. Mandler discovered much about the traveller, whom he described as “a very fascinating individual, a magnetic person, a character full of color, a person of importance in terms of his work.” With his newfound knowledge, Dr. Mandler wrote his doctoral dissertation on Vambéry, which he started in 2001 and took four years to finish. The dissertation later became the main portion of his book. Afterward, Dr. Mandler spent the following years refining his work and adding new information. He researched at the New York Public Library near Bryant Park most summers. He recalled spending hours in the research workroom, examining sources like letters Vambéry wrote, and even writing by Charles Dickens, who had interacted with Vambéry a few times and wrote a story called “The Hungarian Dervish,” which Vambéry inspired. Dr. Mandler also researched in Europe. He visited the British Library in London, though he was not able to find as much useful information there as he had hoped. Dr. Mandler visited Budapest,

What Comes Next?

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where he was born and raised— his first language was Hungarian. He went to visit his grandparents and do more research. He visited the National Szechenyi Library, a former castle, where he looked through the digital database and the paper catalogues to find relevant documents. He also went to the Hungarian National Archives, a former palace, for a letter of recommendation. Though he admitted the research was grueling and tedious, he remembered some interest-

ing moments. He had written to a cemetery to clarify the date of Vambéry’s wife’s death, not expecting to get a response, but was pleasantly surprised when he did. “The cemetery writes back. The cemetery responds!” he said, laughing.

Getting “Vambéry” to the Printers

Publishing the book was another struggle for Dr. Mandler. Most publishing companies rejected his offer on the grounds of his book be-

ing “unmarketable.” One frustrating moment he recalled was back in 2006, when he was rejected by a New England company, despite having high hopes, since he had gained positive reviews from them. Eventually, he found a publisher willing to work with him, and after another period of working with editors and translators, the Hungarian translation of the book book was released in November of 2014. “It’s a long process with a lot of frustrations,” he said. “I wanted this to be published in 2005, but

Now that “Arminius Vambéry” has been published, Dr. Mandler plans to wait. Unfortunately, he notes, the book is a bit too pricey for him to realistically expect people who are interested in learning about the life of Vambéry to purchase quickly. He hopes that many libraries will purchase it, and many have already. The Hungarian version, he is happy to say, already has positive reviews, but the English version is too recent for much of a reaction yet. Dr. Mandler believes “Vambéry” will be his last academic book; he is working on a novel about the antics of a group of teenagers on a highclass trip in Europe, tentatively titled “The Plunge.” When I left the interview, one detail resonated with me: the book’s dedication, which reads, “In memory of my beloved grandparents who walked through the flames of destruction, and dazzled me with their humor, innocence, kindness, and steadfast faith.” Though a word of appreciation toward his grandparents, the dedication seemed to be much more. It seemed to be a memento, as well, to the long journey he faced to show the world the life of Arminius Vambéry.