The particular glory of the second half of the nineteenth century in Spain has been the rise and growth of a new novelistic literature. To the development of this a considerable impetus was given by the essay on manners, which had already been handled with skill by Larra in the first half of the century. and was now taken up by Estebanez (1799-1867), and by RamOn de Mesonero Romanos (1803-82), who has left us ex cellent descriptions of life in older :Madrid. These essayists on manners prepared the way for the tale of manners and the novel of manners (norela de costumbres). The former was culti vated, though with no brilliancy, by Antonio de Trueba (1821-89) : the latter was written, in a way to attract attention and applause, by Cecilia Bohl von Faber de Arrom (1797-1877), familiar still by her nom dr guerre Ferrain Caballero. A thoroughly delightful figure appeared in the person of the short-lived story-teller and poet Gustavo Adolfo Wegner (1836:70). All his work is permeated by the highly subjective qualities that are more common in Northern Europe. His tales are all of a legendary east and are every where actuated by the instinct of mystery.
Pedro Antonio de Alarcon (1833-91) is most felicitous in the composition of the short tale of manners or adventure of the type: he is less suc cessful in the more ambitious novel, although the less lengthy among the novels, particularly the Sombrero de tres picas and the CapitOn continue to delight and amuse their readers. An incomparably greater artist is Juan Valera y Alcala Galiano (born in 1824), whom a pro tracted career in the diplomatic service of his country has made one of the most cosmopolitan and cultured of moderns. In his novels Valera differs from the majority of his contemporaries in that he consciously tends toward idealism, whereas they seek rather to render the living fact. The novel of manners has been raised to a higher level than ever before by Jose Maria de Pereda (born 1834), who, in his chief works, has portrayed life on the mountains and at the seaside in a way hardly to be excelled for detail and chars? of description. The Don Gonzalo (ion zdle.' de la. and the Solileza show Pereda in the fullness of his power; where he leaves the scenes of rustic life and ventures into the city and the fashionable whirl, as in the Pedro SOnehcz, be is still a master novelist, but he treads on uncertain ground. The work of Benito Perez Galdes (born 1S45) from first to last has been marked by tendencies frankly revo lutionary. One of the most admirable and im portant divisions of his labors has been the com position of the collection of novels forming the Episodios nacionairs, but it is by his psycholog ical novels that Gald6s has attracted most atten tion abroad. At least two other novelists
of the first rank must be mentioned here, Armando Palacio Valdes (horn 1853) and the remarkable woman Emilia Pardo Bazan (born 1851). Both' have had tendencies toward a naturalism not unlike that which has so pro foundly affected the French novel of the second half of the nineteenth century.
In the recent period we meet with only two poets of importance, RamOn de Campoamor y Campoosorio (1817-1901), who will continue to be pleasantly remembered for his philosophical and humoristic Doloras and a few descriptive poems: and Niiiiez de Arce. the virile author of the Gritos del eombate. The latter has had disciples both at home and in Spanish America, hut none of them have displayed superior talent. Criticism has flourished. principally through efforts of Marcelino Menendez p Pelayo (born in 1856), who in his Historia de las ideas estrticas en Espana (1884-91) has raised a noble monu ment to the glory of his country.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. The best collection of the Bibliography. The best collection of the Spanish classics is Rivadeneyra's Bibliotcca de autores cspanolcs (71 vols., Madrid, embracing texts of Spanish masterpieces from the earliest times down to the opening of the nineteenth century; note also ColeeciOn de escri 'ores castellanos (106 vols., ib., 1882-96) Ochoa, Coleccion de los mejores autores espanoles (60 vols.. Paris, 1837-60) ; and ColeceiOn de autores espaiioles (48 vols., Leipzig, 1860-86). For the history, consult: Baist, "Die spanische Littera tur," in Griiber's Crrundriss der romanischen Phi lologie (Strassburg. 1894-97) • Ticknor, History of Spanish. Literature (4th ed., Boston. 1871) ; Fitzmauriee-Kelly, A History of Spanish Litera ture (New York. 1898) ; Bouterwek. Gesehiehte der spanisehen Poesia and Beredsamkeit (G6ttin gen, 1804), continued by Brinckmeier, Die Na tionallittrratur der seit Anfang des 19. Jahrhunderts (ib., 1850) Lemeke. Handbuch der spa-nisehen Litteratnr (Leipzig. 1856) ; Klein, Gcsehichte des. spa nisebrn Dramas (ib., 1871 75) ; Schack, Geschichte der dramatischen Lit nod Kunst in Spanien (Berlin. 1846; supplement, Frankfort, 1855) ; id., Pocsic and Kunst der Arabcr in Spanicn and Sizilicn (Stutt gart, 1877) ; Schaffer, Geschiebtc des spanischen Nationaldramas (Leipzig, 1890) ; Balaguer, His toria de los trovadores (Madrid, 1888) ; Menen dez y Pelayo, Calderon y su tcatro 1881), La ciencia espaitola (ib., 1889), Estudios do critica litcraria (ib., 1895), Antologia dc poetas liricos eastellanos (ib., 1890 at seq.) ; De Puy maigre, Les vicux auteurs castillans (Paris, 1888 90) ; Menendez Pidal. La leyenda de los Infantes de Lama (Madrid, 1896) ; Cotarelo y Mori, Marie p su epoca (ib., 1897).