Youth and Egolatry Part 30

This anecdote became current in Madrid. Years afterwards when the prime minister Ca.n.a.lejas was shot to death, the a.s.sa.s.sin recalled it to mind, and repaired to the house of Nakens, who saw in dismay for the second time his radical theories put to violent practical proof. The incident proved extremely embarra.s.sing.

The crime of Morral forms the basis of Baroja's novel _La Dama Errante_. He has also dealt with anarchism in _Aurora Roja_ (Red Dawn).

The mutiny on the ship "Numancia," referred to in the text, was an incident of the same period of unrest, which was met with severe repressive measures.

NOTE

The Madrid Ateneo is a learned society maintaining a house on the Calle del Prado, in which is installed a private library of unusual excellence. It has been for many years the princ.i.p.al depository of modern books in Spain, and a favourite resort of scholars and research-workers of the capital.

THE WORKS OF PiO BAROJA

Pio 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 Galdos, who is in spirit a modern. But it marked the turning point. Benavente the dramatist, Azorin the critic, Ruben Dario the poet, Pio Baroja the novelist, all date from this period, belonging to and of the new generation, and, together with the Valencian Blasco Ibanez, 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."

Pio 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 Pio 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 Perfeccion_, 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, Senor 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. Fa.s.sett, 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 Ibanez' 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 st.u.r.dy 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, Senor 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 acc.u.mulating 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.