The Last Days of Granada by One of the Most Popular English Writers of All Time

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Jessica Knauss

Leila, or The Siege of Granada by Edward Bulwer Lytton

From the same pen that brought us The Last Days of Pompeii and such unforgettable phrases as “the great unwashed,” “pursuit of the almighty dollar,” “the pen is mightier than the sword,” and the famous opening line “It was a dark and stormy night,” come these two feverishly romantic stories set in Golden Age Spain. Lytton was giving the public what it wanted and lived a life of renown, praise, riches, and some ribbing because of it.

Both books are well researched. While reading Edward Bulwer Lytton feels like a guilty pleasure, you might learn something, too.

Leila, Or The Siege of Granada takes place in late 1491, on the eve of the fall of the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, Granada. See the courtly intrigue and mighty battles from both sides — but mostly from the side of the defeated. It’s the side favored by the romantics, anyway. Witness Boabdil’s courageous last stand, and be there with him when he heaves the “last sigh” that is still commemorated at a vista toward the Alhambra today.

Calderon the Courtier tells the shorter tale of a forbidden love, deception, and betrayal at the court of King Felipe III.

This well-formatted edition includes an interactive table of contents and several explanatory footnotes from the first edition. Many original spelling errors have been corrected. This is, hands down, the cleanest edition of these works available.

Get these two amazing bargains in one volume in Kindle or in Nook.

New Spanish Travel by English Writers

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Jessica Knauss

Açedrex is pleased to continue expanding our offerings in English on Spanish topics with a new two-book series.

I’ve always been a fan of nineteenth-century travel narratives in English. They make comparisons that reveal more about England or the US than they do about the country visited. They don’t avoid showing their awe or their disgust. They’re resolutely opinionated and unabashedly judgmental. In other words, their perspective makes the book.

In spite of all that, someone reading these narratives today can learn a lot about the Spain of the time: history, politics, customs, economic conditions and religious morality. This edition presents Castilian Days by John Hay and The Land of the Blessed Virgin by W. Somerset Maugham.

John Hay, lawyer, diplomat and journalist, served as Lincoln’s secretary and was US Secretary of State during the terms of McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. He helped negotiate the treaty that ended the Spanish-American War. First published in 1875, Castilian Days contains his sharp observations of Spain, 1867-1868, when he was secretary of legation in Madrid. Hay’s no-nonsense reporting makes you feel you are discovering Spain right along with him.

W. Somerset Maugham was one of the most popular writers of his era and is known as one of the most significant travel writers of the time. Playwright, novelist, and short story writer, Maugham wrote his reflections on Spain during his literary travels there early in his career. The Land of the Blessed Virgin is a collection of wryly detailed essays on what the author saw and the people he knew in Andalusia. The prose — and the Spain it portrays — sparkles.

The edition includes the full text of both books and a convenient interactive table of contents. Spanish Travels Volume 2, available in October 2011, will contain more great prose from savvy travel writers and period photography and etchings.

Available in Kindle and Nook.

Escritos de un exiliado revolucionario ya en formato digital

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Jessica Knauss

José María “Blanco White” (nacido Blanco Crespo), escritor, pensador, teólogo y periodista internacional, nació en 1775, uno de los momentos más fascinantes de la historia española, y murió en Liverpool en 1841. En 1799 se ordenó sacerdote, pero tras una crisis, dejó de considerarse católico en 1803 y el resto de su vida exploró otras confesiones más simpáticas con sus ideas. Al estallar la Guerra de la Independencia se declaró patriota y en 1810 se trasladó a Inglaterra para no volver. En Inglaterra llegó a dominar la lengua inglesa y mantuvo su estancia política en sus escritos en las dos lenguas.

Publicó revistas y escribió entre otras cosas, las novelas y la autobiografía que aparecen en esta edición:

1. Luisa de Bustamante, novela incompleta y muy interesante que trata las experiencias de una huérfana exiliada de España en Inglaterra. Contrasta la vida en los dos países a través de personajes realistas y conmocionantes.

2. Tres novelas cortas: El alcázar de Sevilla, Costumbres húngaros e Intrigas venecianas, todas llenas de intriga política y detalles sorprendentes.

3. Miscelánea histórica, en las que explica de manera amena unos episodios y costumbres de la gente inglesa. 4. Poemas y sonetos prerromanticistas.

5. Cartas de Juan Sintierra, tratados sobre la política inestable de revolución en Latinoamérica.

6. Su autobiografía, contada a través de cartas a un amigo, que llega hasta el año 1799.

Por primera vez juntos en edición digital, estos libros no se olvidarán fácilmente por su vivo retrato de una era tan original. Esta edición ha sido editada con el esmero que las obras merecen. Cuenta con un índice activo para una experiencia lectora plenamente satisfactoria. En la portada, hemos combinado el Retrato de Doña Isabel Cobos de Porcel por Francisco de Goya con una escena de calle de Londres en 1800. El cuadro es de una española y por un español, pero se ubica actualmente en Londres, situación que creemos apropiada para encubrir los libros de José María Blanco White, el español-inglés.