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Mariano José de Larra (Madrid, 1809–1837) was a journalist, critic, playwright and novelist. Writing under names such as Fígaro, he turned the sketch of manners into an instrument of political and moral analysis of contemporary Spain.
Social criticism and romantic consciousness
Larra’s satirical insight arises from the conflict between the desire for modernisation and the resistance of social structures. That tension reappears in his historical fiction: the past offers another form of individual failure rather than a refuge.
El doncel de don Enrique el Doliente
His only novel, El doncel de don Enrique el Doliente (1834), reworks the legend of the troubadour Macías and his impossible love for Elvira at the court of Henry III. Political intrigue and fatal passion converge in a strongly theatrical narrative.
Artículos varios: Fígaro’s public writing
Alba Longa’s annotated edition assembles an extensive journalistic corpus in two volumes: the first covers texts dated from 1828 to June 1834; the second covers July 1834 to 1837, insufficiently dated writings and the remaining supplementary material. It includes 418 notes, glossaries, a bibliography and a documentary catalogue. The general preface and chronology appear in volume I.
The study “Artículos varios by Larra: satire, public consciousness and philological reading” examines the narrator’s masks, costumbrismo, theatre criticism and disillusionment, and explains the edition’s scope and method.
Language of the books offered: Spanish. Volume I in print — Bubok · Volume I as PDF — Payhip · Volume II in print — Bubok · Volume II as PDF — Payhip.
Essential bibliography
- El doncel de don Enrique el Doliente (1834).
- Macías (1834).
- Sketches of manners and critical articles signed Fígaro.
Textual source: Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes.