Armando Palacio Valdés

novelist and critic.

Biography

Valdés was born at Entralgo in the province of Asturias on the October 4, 1853.

His first writings were printed in the "Revista Europea". These were pungent essays, remarkable for independent judgment and refined humour, and found so much favor with the public that the young beginner was soon appointed editor of the "Revista". The best of his critical work is collected in "Los Oradores del Ateneo" (1878), "Los Novelistas españoles" (1878), "Nuevo viaje al Parnaso and La Literatura en 1881" (1882), this last being written in collaboration with Leopoldo Alas.

In 1881 he published a novel, "El señorito Octavio", which shows an uncommon power of observation, and the optimistic promise of better things to come. In "Marta y Maria" (1883), a portrayal of the struggle between religious vocation and earthly passion, somewhat in the manner of Valera, Palacio Valdés achieved a very popular triumph which placed him in the first rank of contemporary Spanish novelists.

"EL Idilio de un enfermo" (1884), a most interesting fragment of autobiography, has scarcely met with the recognition which it deserves: perhaps because the pathos of the story is too unadorned. The publication of "Peredas Sotileza" is doubtless responsible for the conception of "José" (1885), in which Palacio Valdés gives a realistic picture of the manners and customs of seafaring folk, creates the two convincing characters whom he names José and Leonarda, and embellishes the whole with passages of animated description barely inferior to the finest penned by Pereda himself.

A collection of his short stories appeared in English translation in 1935.

Works

*"Semblanzas literarias" (1871)
*"Los oradores del Ateneo" (1878)
*"El nuevo viaje al Parnaso" (1879)
*"La literatura en" (1881), with Leopoldo Alas
*"El señorito Octavio" (1881)
*"Marta y María" (1883)
*"Aguas fuertes" (1884)
*"El idilio de un enfermo" (1884)
*"José" (1885)
*"Riverita" (1886)
*"Maximina" (1887)
*"El cuarto poder" (1888)
*"La hermana San Sulpicio" (1889)
*"La espuma" (1890)
*"La espuma" (1891)
*"La fe" (1892)
*"El maestrante" (1893)
*"Los majos de Cádiz" (1896)
*"La alegría del capitán Ribot" (1899) ("The Joy of Captain Ribot", 1900)
*"Tristán o el pesimismo" (1906)
*"La aldea perdida" (1911)
*"Los papeles del doctor Angélico" (1911)
*"Años de juventud del doctor Angélico" (1918)
*"La novela de un novelista" (1921)
*"Cuentos escogidos" (1923)
*"La hija de Natalia" (1924)
*"El pájaro en la nieve y otros cuentos" (1925)
*"Santa Rogelia" (1926)
*"Los cármenes de Granada" (1927)
*"Testamento literario" (1929)
*"Sinfonía pastoral" (1930)
*"El gobierno de las mujeres" (1931)
*"Obras completas" (1935)
*"Álbum de un viejo" (1940)
*"El Crimen en Calle de la Persequida" (Unknown)

ee also

In English

*Literary realism: General vision of the movement
*Spanish literature: Evolution of Spanish literature

In Spanish

*
*

References

*
*"Diccionario de literatura española". Madrid: Revista de Occidente, 1964.
*1911

Persondata
NAME=Valdés, Armando Palacio
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION="Los Novelistas españoles" (1878), "Nuevo viaje al Parnaso and La Literatura en 1881" (1882), this last being written in collaboration with Leopoldo Alas
DATE OF BIRTH=October 4, 1853
PLACE OF BIRTH=Entralgo in the province of Asturias
DATE OF DEATH=1838
PLACE OF DEATH=