Stanley Appelbaum served for decades as Dover's Editor in Chief until his retirement in 1996. He continues to work as a selector, compiler, editor, and translator of literature in a remarkable range of languages that includes Spanish, Italian, French, German, and Russian.

Greatly influenced by Europe's nineteenth-century literary trends, Mexico's writers crafted some of the most phenomenal prose fiction in Spanish America. This collection offers a rich sampling of significant Mexican short stories published from 1843 to 1918. Nine different tales range from the realism of López Portillo's ?Reloj sin dueño? and the modernismo saturating Gutiérrez Nájera's "La mañana de San Juan" to the historical accuracy of Riva Palacio's "Las mulas de Su Excelencia" and the vivid romanticism of "Amor secreto" by Manuel Payno, named the "father of Mexican short stories."
Each story appears in its original Spanish text with expert English translations on each facing page. This dual-language edition features a fascinating new introduction and ample footnotes. An easy-reading pleasure for lovers of fine Spanish-language literature, it is also a valuable educational aid for students and teachers.

Introduction
Manuel Payno
Amor secreto / Secret Love
José María Roa Bárcena
Lanchitas / Lanchitas
Vincente Riva Palacio
Las mulas de Su Excelencia / His Excellency's Mules
Ignacio M. Altamirano
Antonia / Antonia
José López Portillo y Rojas
Reloj sin dueño / Unclaimed Watch
Rafael Delgado
El asesinato de Palma Sola / The Murder at Palma Sola
Manuel Gutiérrez Nájera
La mañana de San Juan / The Morning of Saint John's Day
Juan el Organista / Juan the Organist
Ángel de Campo
El fusilado / A Public Executiona