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In Ni rey ni Roque (1835), Patricio de la Escosura exploits an episode particularly fertile for the romantic imagination: the emergence of Gabriel de Espinosa, the pastry cook of Madrigal, presented as King Sebastian of Portugal, who disappeared at Alcácer Quibir.

An identity aspiring to the throne

The plot rests on a political and narrative question: what makes a king credible? Physical resemblance, speech, ceremony and collective desire combine to manufacture an identity. Imposture reveals that legitimacy needs signs and spectators.

History, legend and suspense

Escosura preserves the episode’s obscure areas and turns them into the narrative’s driving force. The reader knows history’s weight, but the novel sustains uncertainty through confidences, conspiracies and partial recognitions.

The impossible restoration

Sebastianism expresses the hope that a vanished sovereign will return to correct the present. The novel regards that hope with fascination and distance. Its measured pace allows the social production of rumour and obedience to be observed.

About the author: Patricio de la Escosura.

Alba Longa’s edition

Language of the book offered for purchase: Spanish. This study is translated into English; the buttons below lead to the Spanish edition.