Pedro Antonio de Alarcón[G] was by nature and training a journalist. He served his apprenticeship as a writer on the staff of several radical journals. A volunteer in the African war of 1859, he won a cross for gallantry in battle, and his account of the war brought him sudden fame as a writer. In his earlier novels Alarcón was fond of sensation, as young writers are wont to be. He was extravagant in description and intemperate in criticism, keen of observation but shallow; and he showed a lack of sense of proportion; but he had a versatility and dash that brought him some meed of popularity. In later life Alarcón passed over from radicalism to conservatism in politics, and his writings became more sober in tone. His best stories are probably El sombrero de tres picos, El capitán Veneno, and some of his Novelas cortas.

Of the lesser writers of stories of manners and customs, Antonio de Trueba and Narciso Campillo should receive especial mention. At one time Trueba[H] shared with Fernán Caballero the esteem and admiration of Spanish readers; but he is now nearly forgotten, except among his fellow-countrymen, the Basques of northern Spain. A journalist, poet, and writer of short stories, Trueba is best known as an interpreter of Basque life. Though a conservative and a monarchist, he loved the common people, and he delighted in describing their customs and in collecting their traditions. In his tales of manners and customs he idealized the simple life of the country folk almost beyond recognition, and he worked over and embellished their traditions to suit his taste. His works are pervaded by a genial, kindly humor; but his language is not seldom dull and insipid.

Narciso Campillo[I] is known as a poet and a writer of short stories. His prose writings have a light and graceful humor that is peculiarly Andalusian.

The most important Spanish novelists now (in 1910) living are Pérez Galdós, Pardo Bazán, Palacio Valdés, and Blasco Ibáñez. Of these the first is now usually classed as a writer of psychological novels and plays, and the others as naturalistic novelists.

Pérez Galdós[J] began as a writer of historical romances modeled largely after those of Erckmann-Chatrian. His Episodios nacionales treat of the War of Independence (called by the English the "Peninsular War") against the French under Napoleon and of the immediately following years. These works are not historically accurate; but they present in an entertaining way the elemental facts of an important period in Spanish history. Their appeal to Spanish pride and patriotism won for them an extraordinary popularity in Spain, although they are little known outside of the peninsula. From the historical struggles of the past Pérez Galdós next turned his attention to the inner struggle that is now going on in Spain between conservatism and modern progress, and his prolific pen produced a series of interesting psychological novels. He is a firm believer in the ultimate good of modern progress, but he presents pitilessly and with the impartiality of a judge some of the tragedies that result from the readjustment of conditions. A liberal in politics and religion, Pérez Galdós attacks not the Church and State but the abuses that have grown up under their sheltering wing. It is needless to say that his polemical writings, though presented in the sugar-coated form of highly entertaining novels, are not taken with pleasure by the monarchists and ultra-Catholics; but they are received with joy by the large and rapidly increasing numbers of liberals. Pérez Galdós' literary activities are now devoted chiefly to the drama which, it would appear, he considers a better vehicle than the novel for the expression of his views. The later work of Pérez Galdós is realistic, but it is in no sense regional. Rather does he seek to be broadly national in his realism by presenting problems that confront the Spanish people as a whole. As a writer, he is often careless and sometimes incorrect. To him the thought he expresses, and not the language in which it is expressed, is all-important. As he approaches old age, there seems to grow upon him the desire, not to be a literary artist, but to become a leader in reform.

The Galician Pardo Bazán[K] is considered the most highly cultivated and the most forceful contemporary writer among the women of modern Spain. In theory she has been a disciple of French naturalism, and some of her novels, particularly Los Pazos de Ulloa and La madre Naturaleza, have somewhat of the repulsive realism of Zola's work. At times she expresses a cold cynicism or a mocking flippancy which detracts from the usual charm of her writings. She pleases most in her picturesque descriptions of the life and manners of her fellow-Galicians. Pardo Bazán early founded a critical review, El Nuevo Teatro Crítico, and in this and in other periodicals she has published many valuable articles of literary criticism. She is now giving her time and thought chiefly to critical work. Her most popular novel is probably Pascual López.

Palacio Valdés[L] began as a member of the school of naturalists, but his later works have become more and more idealistic. He has been a writer of regional novels, like Fernán Caballero and Pereda, but he differs from the others in that he portrays life now in one province and now in another, passing from the Asturias to Valencia and from Madrid to Andalusia. This very broadness of outlook has made his work more cosmopolitan than that of any other modern Spanish novelist,—excepting only Juan Valera,—and has brought him a large meed of popularity in foreign lands. No other contemporary Spanish writer has been so generally translated and so widely read by foreigners as has Palacio Valdés.

In his realistic works he is a careful observer and a faithful describer of life, and he is especially successful in his portrayal of the uneventful lives of the middle and lower classes. Although in his earlier novels he is a pronounced realist, he displays a care-free optimism and a sympathetic humor that distinguish his work from the cynicism of Pardo Bazán and the bitter invectiveness of Blasco Ibáñez, nor has he the seriousness of purpose that characterizes Pérez Galdós. His style is usually direct and simple, but at times it becomes careless or even dull. His genius is uneven, but when at his best Palacio Valdés is one of the most charming of modern novelists. His better known works are probably La hermana San Sulpicio and La alegría del capitán Ribot.

The most forceful of the younger writers of Spain is the Valencian Blasco Ibáñez.[M] His earlier writings were mostly short stories of manners and customs. In these vivid pictures of life among the Valencians and their neighbors, the influence of Maupassant and Zola is easily discernible. Blasco Ibáñez next brought forth a series of polemical writings, in the form of novels, in which he attacked Church and State ruthlessly. His literary work is now quieter in tone, but it still gives evidence that he wishes to arouse the Spanish masses and to lead them on to the complete acquirement of political and social equality. His best known work is La barraca.

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