Pío Baroja, recognized by the best critics as the foremost living
Spanish novelist, is without doubt the chief exponent of that ferment of
political and social thought in Spain which had its inception in the
cataclysm of 1898, and which gave rise to the new movement in Spanish
literature.
Of course this "modern movement" was not actually born in 1898. It dates
back as far as Galdós, who is in spirit a modern. But it marked the
turning point. Benavente the dramatist, Azorín the critic, Rubén Darío
the poet, Pío Baroja the novelist, all date from this period, belonging
to and of the new generation, and, together with the Valencian Blasco
Ibáñez, form the A B C of modern Spanish culture.
"Baroja stands for the modern Spanish mind at its most enlightened,"
says H. L. Mencken. "He is the Spaniard of education and worldly wisdom,
detached from the mediaeval imbecilities of the old regime and yet aloof
from the worse follies of the demagogues who now rage in the country ...
the Spaniard who, in the long run, must erect a new structure of society
upon the half archaic and half Utopian chaos now reigning in the
peninsular."
Pío Baroja was born in 1872 at San Sebastian, the most fashionable
summer resort of Spain, the Spanish "Summer Capital." Baroja's father
was a noted mining engineer, and while without reputation as a man of
letters he was an occasional contributor to various periodicals and
dailies. He had destined his son for the medical profession, and Pío
studied at Valencia and Madrid, where he received his degree. He started
practice in the small town of Cestona, the type of town which figures
largely in his novels.
But the young doctor soon wearied of his profession, and laying aside
his stethoscope forever, he returned to Madrid, where, in partnership
with an older brother, he opened a bakery. However he was no more
destined to be a cook than a doctor, so, encouraged by interested
friends, he succeeded in getting a few articles and stories accepted by
various Madrid papers. It was not long before he won distinction as a
journalist, and he presently abandoned baking entirely, devoting all his
energies to writing.
His first novel, _Camino de Perfección_, published in 1902, was
received with but little enthusiasm. However he closely followed it with
several others, and Spain soon realized that she had a new writer of
unusual merit. Today he is pre-eminent among contemporary Spanish
authors. His books have been translated into French, German, Italian and
English.
Alfred A. Knopf, Señor Baroja's authorized publisher in the
English-speaking countries, has published to date two of the novels:
THE CITY OF THE DISCREET. Translated by Jacob S. Fassett, Jr. $2.00 net.
Around Cordova, the fascinating and romantic "city of the discreet,"
Baroja has spun an adventurous tale. He gives you a vivid picture of the
city with her tortuous streets, ancient houses with their patios and
tiled roofs and of her "discreet" inhabitants. In a style that is
polished where Ibáñez' is crudely vigorous, and with sympathy and
understanding, he portrays Quentin, the natural son of a Marquis and a
woman of humble birth; Pacheco, the ambitious bandit chief; Don Gil
Sabadia, the garrulous and convivial antiquarian, and a host of other
characters.
"Unforgettable pictures are spread in a rich background for the
action--Cordova at twilight, with its spires showing against the violet
sky, the narrow streets with white houses leaning toward each other,
its squares with sturdy beggars squatting around and its gardens heavy
with the scent of orange blossoms, where old fountains quietly drip."--
_Indianapolis News_.
"This fine novel ... shows us the best features of the modern Spanish
realistic school."--_The Bookman_.
CAESAR OR NOTHING. Translated by Louis How. $2.00 net.
This is the story of Caesar Moncada, a brilliantly clever young
Spaniard, who sets out to reform his country, to modernize it and its
government. In depicting Caesar's preparation in Rome, where his uncle
is a Cardinal, for the career he has planned for himself, Señor Baroja
etches vividly and entertainingly a typical cosmopolitan society--witty,
worldly, prosperous and cynical. The second part of the book describes
Caesar's political fight in Castro Duro.
"Not only Spain's greatest novelist, but his greatest book. It is the
most important translation that has come out of Spain in our time in the
field of fiction and it will be remembered as epochal."--JOHN GARRETT
UNDERHILL, Representative in America of the Society of Spanish Authors
of Madrid.
"Ranks Baroja as a master of fiction, with a keen sense of character,
constructive power and an active, dynamic style."--_Philadelphia
Ledger_.
"I read _Caesar or Nothing_ with a profound admiration for its
power and skill. It is a great novel, which you deserve our thanks for
publishing."--HAROLD J. LASKI, of Harvard University.
"A brilliant book--amazingly clever and humorous in its earlier
chapters, gradually accumulating depth as it moves along until it
becomes the stuff of tragedy at the close. The character he has created
in Caesar Moncada is one of the few really notable portrayals in recent
fiction."--_Chicago Post_.
Translations of three other novels by Baroja are in preparation in the
competent hands of Dr. Isaac Goldberg. The first, _LA DAMA
ERRANTE_, will be ready in the Fall of 1920. Probable price, $2.00.