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46-499: The Great Fortune is a novel by English writer Olivia Manning first published in 1960. It forms the opening part of a six-part novel series called Fortunes Of War . The Fortunes Of War series itself is split into two trilogies, The Balkan Trilogy and The Levant Trilogy . The novels tell an unfolding story of how the Second World War impacts on the lives of a group of British expatriates. The Great Fortune covers

92-769: A Kingdom in 1881, after gaining independence from the Ottoman Empire . However, before the Austro-Hungarian Compromise , the elite of the Transylvanian Romanians did not support the concept of "Greater Romania", instead they wanted only equality with the other nations in Transylvania. The concept became a political reality when, in 1881, the Romanian National Party of Transylvania gathered Romanians on

138-594: A common political platform to fight together for Transylvania's autonomy. According to Livezeanu the creation of Greater Romania with "a unifying concept of nationhood" started to evolve in the late 1910s. World War I played a crucial part in the development of Romanian national consciousness. The Treaty of Bucharest (1916) was signed between Romania and the Entente Powers on 4 ( Old Style )/17 ( New Style ) August 1916 in Bucharest . The treaty stipulated

184-495: A concept, its main goal is the creation of a nation-state which would incorporate all Romanian speakers . In 1920, after the incorporation of Transylvania , Bukovina , Bessarabia and parts of Banat , Crișana , and Maramureș , the Romanian state reached its largest peacetime geographical extent ever (295,049 km ). Today, the concept serves as a guiding principle for the unification of Moldova and Romania . The idea

230-413: A short period of time, was viewed in later periods as the precursor of a modern Romania , a thesis which was argued by Nicolae Bălcescu . This theory became a point of reference for nationalists , as well as a catalyst for various Romanian forces to achieve a single Romanian state. The Romanian revolution in 1848 already carried the seeds of the national dream of a unified and united Romania, though

276-656: A temporary home in the Atheni hotel where all the British journalists congregate in what is known as the English bar. They witness the arrival of the last remnants of the defeated Polish army, vanquished in the German invasion of Poland . In a piece of luck, Yakimov is hired as an assistant to work for a veteran journalist, Mcann, who has been wounded in the retreat and is desperate to get his story out. This enables Yakimov to live in

322-603: A train. They have just married, after a whirlwind romance over the summer vacation. They are travelling to Bucharest , where Guy has a job (paid for by the British Council ) at the English department of the University . On the train they first encounter Prince Yakimov, a once-wealthy English-educated White Russian émigré who is now nearly penniless and forced to live by scrounging. Once in Bucharest they set up

368-637: Is commonly used in Romania, and it poses territorial claims over the region of Bessarabia. It is also used in Moldova. As of 2024 Alliance for the Union of Romanians (AUR) supports the unification of Moldova and Romania . While S.O.S. Romania leader Diana Iovanovici Șoșoacă proposed a law in 2023 for a project on the Romanian Parliament for the annexation by Romania of Northern Bukovina ,

414-501: Is comparable to other similar conceptions such as the Greater Bulgaria , Megali Idea , Greater Yugoslavia , Greater Hungary and Greater Italy . The theme of national identity had been always a key concern for Romanian culture and politics. The Romanian national ideology in the first decades of the twentieth century was a typical example of ethnocentric nationalism. The concept of "Greater Romania" shows similarities to

460-405: Is considered a triumph, but many Romanians wonder at the British ability to stage a cultural event like this during a time in which their country appears to be going to defeat in war. The play can be seen as an allegory for political events, with the beleaguered city of Troy as Britain and the invading Athenians led by the militaristic Achilles as the fascists. The book's title, The Great Fortune ,

506-454: Is forced to rent a room in an unfashionable bug-ridden suburban apartment. The head of the Drucker family is arrested on trumped-up charges, and the rest of his family flee. Harriet is shocked as she witnesses the extreme poverty that exists alongside the wealthy affluence of the capital. The suffering endured by the poor during the very severe Romanian winter is described. The novel follows

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552-537: Is taken from its final pages and refers to the potential unrealised economic wealth of Greater Romania . Olivia Manning Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 227889108 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:39:49 GMT Greater Romania As

598-473: The Russian Revolution . After declaring independence from Russia on 24 January 1918, the "Sfatul Țării" voted for union with Romania on 9 April 1918. Of the 138 deputies in the council, 86 voted for union, 3 against, 36 abstained (mostly the deputies representing minorities, 52% of the population at the time) and 13 were not present. The United Kingdom , France , Italy and Japan recognized

644-496: The "idea of unification" had been known from earlier works of Naum Ramniceanu (1802) and Ion Budai-Deleanu (1804). The concept owes its life to Dimitrie Brătianu , who introduced the term "Greater Romania" in 1852. The first step in unifying Romanians was to establish the United Principalities by uniting Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859, which became known as Romania since the 1866 Constitution and turned into

690-526: The (Romanian) unitary national state six and a half decades ago was a brilliant historic victory of the long heroic struggle of the masses for creating the Romanian nation and the coming true of the age old dream of all Romanians to live in unity within the borders of the same country, in one free and independent state. The fall of the communist regimes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union and

736-596: The 1930s. Bessarabia declared its sovereignty as the Moldavian Democratic Republic in 1917 by the newly formed "Council of the Country" (" Sfatul Țării "). The state was faced with the disorderly retreat through its territory of Russian troops from disbanded units. In January 1918, the "Sfatul Țării" called on Romanian troops to protect the province from the Bolsheviks who were spreading

782-538: The British diplomatic legation. All seem relatively unconcerned by the war and the threat it poses. They are entertained by the Druckers, a family of Jewish bankers who enjoy extreme wealth, and whose eldest son Sacha is a student of Guy. The Pringles rent an underheated two-bedroom apartment in a block overlooking the Cotroceni Royal Palace just as winter begins. Yakimov's credit runs out and he

828-806: The Deputies of the Romanians of Transylvania, and supported one month later by the vote of the Deputies of the Saxons of Transylvania . The Hungarians of Transylvania, about 32% at the time (including the Hungarian-speaking Jewish community), and the Germans of Banat did not elect deputies upon the dissolution of Austria-Hungary , since they were considered represented by the Budapest government of Hungary, nevertheless on 22 December 1918

874-666: The Hungarian General Assembly in Cluj (Kolozsvár) reaffirmed the loyalty of Hungarians from Transylvania to Hungary. In the 1920 Treaty of Trianon , Hungary was forced to give up all claims over Transylvania and the treaty set the new borders between the two countries. In 1940, the Romanian state agreed to cede Bessarabia to the Soviet Union , as provided for by the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between

920-612: The Middle East. The final chapters describe the production of the Shakespeare play Troilus and Cressida by the University's English department in the spring of 1940. It is directed by Guy, who becomes completely focused on the work, ignoring the threatening nature of the war as it unfolds around him. Yakimov surprises everyone, including himself, with a great acting ability which restores his self-respect. The performance

966-556: The Romanian government violently repressed strikes and riots, notably the 1929 miners' strike in Valea Jiului and the strike in the Grivița railroad workshops . In the mid-1930s, the Romanian economy recovered and the industry grew significantly, although about 80% of Romanians were still employed in agriculture. French economic and political influence was predominant in the early 1920s but then Germany became more dominant, especially in

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1012-698: The Romanian, German, and Polish deputies unanimously voted for union, the Ukrainian deputies (representing 38% of the population according to the 1910 Austrian census) and Jewish deputies did not attend the council. The unification was ratified in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye . On 1 December 1918, the Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia proclaimed the union of Transylvania and other territories with Romania in Alba Iulia , adopted by

1058-728: The Soviet Union and Germany . It also lost Northern Bukovina and the Hertsa region , which were not mentioned in the pact, to the Soviet Union. It lost Northern Transylvania to Hungary, through the Second Vienna Award , and the Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria by the Treaty of Craiova . In the course of World War II, Romania, which was allied with the Axis Powers , not only re-annexed Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, but also took under administrative control lands to

1104-654: The armed conflict in Moldova was due to the Romanian ethnic nationalism, in other words, "the attempt to create a unitary, ethnic state with power concentrated in the hands of ethnic nationalists in what was actually a multiethnic society." Furthermore, Bucharest's behavior toward Ukraine did not change until 1997 when Romanian politicians realized that resolving border disputes was a precondition for NATO membership. Present-day Romanian irredentists (such as members of PRM ) aim to take possession of territories of northern Bukovina and Bessarabia . These regions currently belong to Ukraine and Moldova. The Russian presence and

1150-405: The concept of Greater Romania stood behind Romanian foreign policy toward Moldova therefore expressed concerns about possible developments on Dobruja . In 1992, the issue on unification of Moldova and Romania was negotiated between the Romanian and Moldovan governments and they wanted to achieve it by the end of the year. However, the "unionists" lost their dominance in Moldova in the middle of

1196-564: The conditions under which Romania agreed to join the war on the side of the Entente, particularly territorial promises in Austria-Hungary . The signatories bound themselves to keep secret the contents of the treaty until a general peace was concluded. Romanians! The war which for the last two years has been encircling our frontiers more and more closely has shaken the ancient foundations of Europe to their depths. It has brought

1242-400: The course of the historical events of 1939 and 1940 and how these successively affect the English community in Bucharest and Romanian society. These are: News of these events reaches the main characters by rumour, newspaper, German propaganda and via BBC radio. Harriet's friendship with Clarence deepens as Guy becomes absorbed in his university work. Guy's close friend David Boyd arrives from

1288-520: The day which has been awaited for centuries by the national conscience, by the founders of the Romanian State, by those who united the principalities in the war of independence, by those responsible for the national renaissance. It is the day of the union of all branches of our nation. Today we are able to complete the task of our forefathers and to establish forever that which Michael the Great

1334-506: The east of Dniester (parts of recently formed Moldavian SSR , and of Odessa and Vinnytsia oblasts of Ukrainian SSR ), creating Transnistria Governorate . Despite clear Ukrainian majority in the governorate's ethnic composition, demonstrated by a census conducted in December 1941 , Romanian government hoped to annex it eventually as a "compensation" for Northern Transylvania lost to Hungary . These territories were lost again when

1380-419: The economic downturn accompanying it led to a resurgence of nationalism in the region. Romania and Moldova, state comprising the bulk of Bessarabia which had become independent after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, confronted with their eastern neighbor, Ukraine . Bucharest and Chișinău announced territorial claims on Ukrainian lands (on parts of Chernivtsi and Odessa regions). Bulgaria surmised that

1426-510: The effects of the hundred years of political separation. Due to the inability of the government to solve the problems of the Transylvanian Romanians' integration and the effects of the worldwide and national economic depression , "the population gradually lost its faith in the democratic conception of Greater Romania". The Great Depression in Romania , which started in 1929, destabilised the country. The early 1930s were marked by social unrest, high unemployment, and strikes. In several instances,

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1472-554: The first year of the war from September 1939 to June 1940, and is set in Romania . It is semi-autobiographical , mirroring the life of Olivia Manning during those years, but uses fictional characters. The work was praised by critics for its perception and for an adept and scrupulous attention to detail, seen in its vivid descriptions of people, places, and the natural world. The novel opens with an English couple, Guy and Harriet Pringle, travelling through Yugoslavia towards Romania on

1518-492: The heads of the Romanian Communist Party, as writing in his memo of April 1944: "the two parts of Transylvania should be reunited as an independent state." The Romanian Communist politicians' behavior were depicted as nationalist, and this circumstance brought about the concept of National Communism , which amalgamated elements of Stalinism and Fascism . According to Trond Gilberg the regime needed

1564-651: The hotel in great style, where he befriends the Pringles. Guy shows Harriet the sights of Bucharest, especially the cafes and the Cismigiu Park . She meets Sophie – a half-Jewish student of Guy, seeking the security of a passport – whom Harriet senses is a rival for Guy's affections. Harriet meets Professor Inchcape and two other members of the University English department, Clarence Lawson and diplomat Foxy Leverat. She also meets some junior members of

1610-652: The idea of national state. The Romanian territorial claims were based on "primordial racial modalities" , the essential goal of them was to unify the biologically defined Romanians. The nation-building based on the French model of a unitary nation-state became an all time priority especially in the interwar and the Communist periods. The union of Michael the Brave , who ruled over the three principalities with Romanian population ( Wallachia , Transylvania and Moldavia ) for

1656-480: The incorporation of Bessarabia through the Treaty of Paris . The United States and the Soviet Union however refused to do so, the latter maintaining a claim to the territory for the whole interwar period. Furthermore, Japan failed to ratify the treaty, which therefore never entered into force. In Bukovina , after being occupied by the Romanian Army, a National Council voted for union with Romania. While

1702-788: The problem of "Soviet annexed Bessarabia" . The Romanian organizations ignored the result of the Moldovan referendum on independence because the referendum did not ask Romanians in Romania. Romanian politicians blamed Russia and the Moldovan regime that unification became unreal. According to Edward Ozhiganov (Head of the Division for Ethnopolitical Research at the Analytical Center of the Federation Council in Russia),

1748-658: The proclamation by King Ferdinand, 28 August 1916 Lucian Boia summarised the territorial extent of the nationalist dream as following: The concept of "Greater Romania" materialized as a geopolitical reality after the First World War . Romania gained control over Bessarabia , Bukovina and Transylvania . The borders established by the treaties concluding the war did not change until 1940. The resulting state, often referred to as "România Mare" or, alternatively, as Romanian : România Întregită (roughly translated in English as "Romania Made Whole," or "Entire Romania"),

1794-512: The role of "spiritual victimization" , turning it into "spiritual police ", was a radical and challenging task for the Romanian intellectuals because they had to entirely revise the national identity and the destiny of the Romanian nation. In accordance with this view, Livezeanu states that the Great Union created a "deeply fragmented" interwar Romania where the determination of national identity met with great difficulties mainly because of

1840-486: The strongly nationalist attitude because of the social, economic and political challenges. After the retreat of the Soviet troops from Romania in 1958, the national ideology was reborn, however it raises questions about its reconcilability with internationalist communism . Nicolae Ceaușescu fancied the idea that the creation of Greater Romania was the fruit of the end of the nation-formation process. The setting up of

1886-541: The tense political situation in Moldova also inflame their demands. Nevertheless, radicals make territorial demands on Hungary too. The Greater Romania Party (Partidul România Mare – PRM) is an emblematic representative of the aforesaid concept, though the conception is fostered also by other right-wing groups (e.g. the organisation of the New Right – Noua Dreaptă ). Today, the phrase " Bessarabia, Romanian land " ( Basarabia, pământ românesc , with several variations)

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1932-579: The tide of the war turned. After the war, Romania regained the Transylvanian territories lost to Hungary, but not territory lost to Bulgaria or the Soviet Union. In 1948 a treaty between the Soviet Union and Soviet-occupied Communist Romania also provided for the transfer of four uninhabited islands to the Soviet Union, three in the Danube Delta and Snake Island in the Black Sea . After

1978-508: The war, the concept was interpreted as "obsolete" because of the Romanian defeat. However, even the Communist politicians between 1944 and 1947 plainly supported the re-establishment of Greater Romania. Gheorghe Apostol 's reminiscence strengthens the view for the nationalist argument of the Communists at the negotiations with Stalin about the future of Northern Transylvania. In contrast with this view, Romsics quotes Valter Roman , one of

2024-429: The year. Bucharest admitted the existence of the two Romanian states (Romania and Moldova) and defined priorities in reference to this matter: "the creation of a common cultural space; the creation of an economically integrated zone; and gradual political integration" . The Moldovan Snegur government became more pragmatic and realized that the nationalist propaganda from Bucharest did not help their aims especially on

2070-610: Was only able to establish for a moment, namely, a Romanian union on both slopes of the Carpathians. For us the mountains and plains of Bukowina, where Stephen the Great has slept for centuries. In our moral energy and our valour lie the means of giving him back his birthright of a great and free Rumania from the Tisza to the Black Sea, and to prosper in peace in accordance with our customs and our hopes and dreams. (...) Part of

2116-473: Was seen as the 'true', whole Romanian state, or, as Tom Gallagher states, the " Holy Grail of Romanian nationalism". Its constitution, proclaimed in 1923, "largely ignored the new ethnic and cultural realities". The Romanian ideology changed due to the demographic, cultural and social alterations, however the nationalist desire for a homogeneous Romanian state conflicted with the multiethnic, multicultural truth of Greater Romania. The ideological rewriting of

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