The Condemned Woman

Blasco Ibáñez, Vicente, 1867-1928Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.8

Word count: 206K words
Chapters: 21

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.La condenada (cuentos) by Vicente Blasco IbáñezAuthor: Blasco Ibáñez, Vicente, 1867-1928,Language: Spanish, Class: PQ: Language and Literatures: Romance literatures: French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Release Date: Jan 7, 2009

Editor's review

La condenada is a short story collection by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez, written in Spanish and available as a free public-domain eBook from Project Gutenberg. Blasco Ibáñez was a leading figure of Spanish realism and naturalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and his work often focuses on the fate of the lower classes, social injustice, and a strong sense of place. The book serves as an accessible introduction to Spanish realist short fiction and can also be used for reading practice in the original Spanish. The short formats make for easy reading in stages, allowing readers to grasp the author's portrayal of his characters' circumstances and his narrative pacing within a single story. As this is a public-domain electronic text, choose a clearly formatted edition, and keep a Spanish dictionary at hand for regional vocabulary and colloquial expressions.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Learners with intermediate or higher Spanish reading proficiency who wish to engage with literary texts in the original
Readers interested in Spanish realist short fiction of the late nineteenth century
Teachers and students who need short texts for close reading in class or book-club discussion
Literature enthusiasts who want to explore Blasco Ibáñez's work by starting with his short stories

Not a good fit for

Readers with no prior Spanish who cannot read the original with the help of a dictionary
Readers expecting the complete plot and character development of a full-length novel
Those who prefer light entertainment and have little interest in realist social themes

Reading tips

Read one story through first to grasp the narrative tone, then look up unfamiliar words and regional expressions rather than pausing at every word.
Take brief notes on each story, recording characters' circumstances and conflicts so you can compare themes across the collection.
Pair the text with Spanish audio recordings or a translation to lower the barrier to understanding the original.
For classroom use, select one story for focused discussion of the relationship between social background and individual fate.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a short story collection?

The word "cuentos" in the catalog title indicates that this is a short story collection, not a novel. The stories are relatively independent, which makes them easy to read in stages and to schedule story by story.

Can I read this book if my Spanish is only average?

The book is in the original Spanish, and its sentences and vocabulary carry period and regional flavor. Intermediate or higher reading proficiency is recommended, along with a dictionary or a parallel translation. Beginners can read a translation first to get the gist, then return to selected stories in the original.

What are the features of the Project Gutenberg edition?

Project Gutenberg provides free public-domain eBooks, and this book is one of its public-domain texts. It is freely available, but formatting varies across devices, so choose a format that offers a good reading experience.

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About the author

Blasco Ibáñez, Vicente, 1867-1928 Author

Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (1867–1928) was a Spanish novelist. Public information on the details of his life is limited, yet the character of his work is fairly clear. The library holds 46 of his works, including such representative titles as Sangre y arena, Cañas y barro, Los cuatro jinetes del apocalipsis, La Barraca, Flor de mayo and La bodega. His fiction often draws on rural Valencia and the lives of the urban poor, written in a realistic vein and skilled at portraying the natural landscape and its entanglement with human fate, combining regional colour with social criticism. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, set against war, brought him a wider international readership. Overall, his novels occupy a place in the transition of Spanish literature from realism to modern narrative.