"Tristana," by Benito Pérez Galdós, edited by Susan G. Polansky
Galdós' 1892 realist novel, set in Madrid, focuses on the characters, their positions in society, and pursuit of freedom. His depiction of the circumstances that lead to Tristana’s living arrangement with Don Lope, her desire to escape, and her situation at the end of the novel, invited mixed reactions by his contemporaries and by others many years later who offered their assessments of the novel.
The reader enters the intimate world of very particular characters and their lives in late nineteenth century Spain. At the same time, beyond the very specific and temporal portrayals, the reader may see more universal passions and preoccupations that characterize the human condition.
ISBN 978-1-58977-121-5 (PB) $20