PARDO BAZAN, EMILIA (1851-1921), Spanish author, was born at Corunna. Her first novel, Pascual Lopez (1879), was a simple exercise in fantasy of no remarkable promise; it was followed by a more striking story, Un Viaje de novios (1880, in which a discreet attempt was made to introduce into Spain the methods of French realism. The sensation caused by this book among the literary cliques was increased by the appearance of another naturalistic tale, La Tribuna (1885), wherein the influ ence of Zola is unmistakable. Meanwhile, the writer's reply to her critics was issued under the title of La Cuestion palpitante (1883), a clever piece of rhetoric, but of no especial value as regards criticism or dialectics. Probably the best of Emilia Pardo Bazan's work is embodied in Los Pazos de Ulloa (1886), the painfully exact history of a decadent aristocratic family, as notable for its portraits of types like Nucha and Julian as for its creation of characters like those of the political bravos, Bar bacana and Trampeta. Yet perhaps its most abiding merit lies
in its pictures of country life, its poetic realization of Galician scenery set down in an elaborate, highly-coloured style, which, if not always academically correct, is invariably effective. A sequel, with the significant title of La Madre naturaleza (1887), marks a further advance in the path of naturalism, and henceforward Emilia Pardo Bazar' was universally recognized as one of the chiefs of the new naturalistic movement in Spain. The title was confirmed by the publication of Insolacion and Morriiia, both issued in 1889. In this year her reputation as a novelist reached its highest point. Her later stories, La Cristiana (1890), Cuentos de amor Arco Iris Misterio (19o3), La Quimera (1905), Dulce (19I I), and Cuentos de la Tierra (1922), though not wanting in charm, awakened less interest.