PEREZ GALDOS, BEixtro (1845—).
A Spanish novelist, born in the Canaries. In 1863 he went to Madrid to study law. GaldSs is one of the most prolific of modern Spanish men of letters. His works are marked by out-and-out revolutionary tendencies. One of the most im portant divisions of his labors was the composi tion of the collection of tales that form the Episodios naeionales. Of these historical ro mances, the first two series, embracing some twenty stories, were completed in 1883. Writing them under the inspiration of the romans ?I tionaux of Erckmann-Chatrian, GaIdos gives with historic fidelity and in great detail an ac count of the struggle for Spanish independence of the Napoleonic invader, The last novels of the second series bring his treatment of political events down to sonic fifteen years after the re turn of Ferdinand VII. In a third series he continues his epopee down to even more recent times, dealing with the Carlist War of 1833 40. Galdris ranks well in the domain of realism and psychology, having written several works generally grouped together as A'orelas de in primera epoca and Yorelas espafolas contempo rencas. Of the former group are Doha Perfecta
(1876), Gloria (1877), La familia de Leon Rock (1878), and Mariana° (1878) ; of the latter are such stories as El amigo Alonso( 1882), El doctor Centeno, Fortunata y doeinta (1887), iuu ( 1888), Angel Guerra (1891), etc. The vogue of these novels has been even greater than that of his Episodios nacionales. in general, they ex hibit the contrast between old and blindly con servative elements of Spanish life on the one hand and the new revolutionary ideas of the modern world on the other. The plays of GaldOs are inferior to his novels. Chief among them are: Rralidad (1892) ; La loca de la case (1893); La de bait 011intin (1894) Los condenados: Po inland; Dona Perfecta (1000) ; La Piero; Elec tra (1900). Consult: Alas, B. Perez Goldes, cstudio rriiieo-bioyrllftco (241 ed., Madrid, 1880) ; Pardo Bazfin, Polenricas y estudios literarios(ib., 1892).