Benito Perez Galdos (1843-1920) was one of Spain's outstanding novelists and the author of two vast cycles of novels and a number of plays. In this critical study of Galdos in English, Stephen Gilman relates the writer and his work to the nineteenth century novel as a genre and traces his artistic growth during a twenty-year period, from his initial historical fable, La Fontana de Oro, to his masterpiece, Fortunata y Jacinta.

Originally published in 1981.

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Stephen Gilman

• FrontMatter,
• Contents,
• Preface,
• Chapter I. Galdós: "Life and Times",
• Chapter II. La Fontana de Oro,
• Chapter III. From Trafalgar to Doña Perfecta,
• Chapter IV. La Desheredada,
• Chapter V. From La Desheredada to Lo Prohibido,
• Chapter VI. A Colloquium of Novelists,
• Chapter VII. The Novelist as Reader,
• Chapter VIII. The Challenge of Historical Time,
• Chapter IX. The Art of Listening,
• Chapter X. The Art of Genesis,
• Chapter XI. The Art of Consciousness,
• Chapter XII. Retrospect,
• Appendix. Classical References in Doña Perfecta,
• Index,