Born in Fiume to an aristocratic family, Horváth went to school in Budapest and Vienna and studied German literature and theatre in Munich. He left university, without graduating, to pursue the career of a writer. After an intense period of literary production in the second half of the 1920s, he received the prestigious Kleist Prize in 1931. His socio-critical plays became exceptionally popular as their author proved to be a keen observer of the economic crisis that tragically altered the life of the middle and working classes. Although his work displayed leftist tendencies, Horváth had an ambivalent attitude towards National Socialism. While his books were officially banned, he took advantage of his Hungarian nationality to work in the Fascist film industry. An extended series of ill success drove the playwright to emigration. He was not able to realize this plan as he died in a tragic accident at the Champs Elysées in Paris.