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Doña Perfecta (1876) is a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós. Published toward the beginning of Pérez Galdós' career, Doña Perfecta is a powerful story of romance and religion that raises timeless questions regarding the meaning of love and the restrictions placed on individual lives by the Catholic Church. Adapted several times for film and television in Spain and abroad, the novel is one of Pérez Galdós' most beloved works of fiction. "'What more can I tell you of Dona Rosarito but that that she is the living image of her mother? You will have a treasure, Senor Don Jose, if it is true, as I hear, that you have come to be married to her. She will be a worthy mate for you, and the young lady will have nothing to complain of, either.'" Don Jose Rey, known to friends and family as Pepe, arrives in the cathedral city of Orbajosa to marry his cousin Rosario. A young liberal, Jose has mixed feelings regarding the institution of marriage and the place of the Catholic church, but decides to obey his father's wishes and go ahead with the marriage as it has been arranged. When a disagreement arises between Pepe's father and Doña Perfecta, the mother of Rosario, their spite threatens to destroy the lives of the two young lovers. This edition of Benito Pérez Galdós's Doña Perfecta is a classic of Spanish literature reimagined for modern readers.
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About the author
Benito Pérez Galdós (1843-1920) was a Spanish novelist. Born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, he was the youngest of ten sons born to Lieutenant Colonel Don Sebastián Pérez and Doña Dolores Galdós. Educated at San Agustin school, he travelled to Madrid to study Law but failed to complete his studies. In 1865, Pérez Galdós began publishing articles on politics and the arts in
La Nación. His literary career began in earnest with his 1868 Spanish translation of Charles Dickens'
Pickwick Papers. Inspired by the leading realist writers of his time, especially Balzac, Pérez Galdós published his first novel,
La Fontana de Oro (1870). Over the next several decades, he would write dozens of literary works, totaling 31 fictional novels, 46 historical novels known as the
National Episodes, 23 plays, and 20 volumes of shorter fiction and journalism. Nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times without winning, Pérez Galdós is considered the preeminent author of nineteenth century Spain and the nation's second greatest novelist after Miguel de Cervantes.
Doña Perfecta (1876), one of his finest works, has been adapted for film and television several times.
Summary
Doña Perfecta (1876) is a novel by Benito Pérez Galdós. Published toward the beginning of Pérez Galdós’ career, Doña Perfecta is a powerful story of romance and religion that raises timeless questions regarding the meaning of love and the restrictions placed on individual lives by the Catholic Church. Adapted several times for film and television in Spain and abroad, the novel is one of Pérez Galdós’ most beloved works of fiction. “‘What more can I tell you of Dona Rosarito but that that she is the living image of her mother? You will have a treasure, Senor Don Jose, if it is true, as I hear, that you have come to be married to her. She will be a worthy mate for you, and the young lady will have nothing to complain of, either.’” Don Jose Rey, known to friends and family as Pepe, arrives in the cathedral city of Orbajosa to marry his cousin Rosario. A young liberal, Jose has mixed feelings regarding the institution of marriage and the place of the Catholic church, but decides to obey his father’s wishes and go ahead with the marriage as it has been arranged. When a disagreement arises between Pepe’s father and Doña Perfecta, the mother of Rosario, their spite threatens to destroy the lives of the two young lovers. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Benito Pérez Galdós’s Doña Perfecta is a classic of Spanish literature reimagined for modern readers.
