They were counted

Buying a thick Hungarian classic was a bit of a risk but it was Oxfam so I figured my suffering might help someone. As it is I'm really enjoying the 600 odd pages of Miklos Banffy's first volume of his trilogy.

Banffy was a politician, aristocrat and, I think, socialite, so where did he find time to sit down with his fountain pen and come up with those many thousands of words? Is it easier now with our wordprocessors or more difficult with so many distractions? Of course Bannfy would have been distracted by the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, all those summer balls, duels and affiairs.