Saragossa

A Story of Spanish Valor

English · 1899 · 8h 15m · Historical Fiction

Touted as an equal with Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy, Benito Pérez Galdós is an enormously important Spanish author. His profound scope of work includes 46 historical novels that portray Spanish history during the 19th century. "Zaragoza" (originally published in 1874) is the sixth of ten novels in the First Series of these "Episodios Nacionales." In this book, Gabriel escapes from the French, but taking refuge in Zaragoza, he witnesses the horrifically brutal siege of 1809 and the incomprehensible hardships and losses of that city, wherein many tens of thousands of people died. Galdós writes of this terror, but also of the bravery, laughter, song, and love that filled the lives of the people. "Saragossa" is Smith's authorized 1899 translation, its first appearance in English. - Summary by Lynette Caulkins