Ramón María del Valle Inclán, 'Savage Comedies'

Book excerpt: Among the great figures of European modernism, Ramón Maria del Valle-Inclán (1866-1936) remains relatively unknown and unappreciated outside his native Spain. His large and diverse oeuvre includes prose, poetry, drama as well as critical and journalistic essays. His deeply personal belletristic style evolved from the symbolist aesthetic to the more mature variant of expressionism of his output in the 1920s and '30s, which he termed esperpento. This volume presents translations of his dramatic trilogy Comedias Bárbaras (Savage Comedies), consisting of Cara de plata (Golden Boy, 1922), Águila de blasón (The Blazoned Eagle, 1907) and Romance de Lobos (Wolves Rampant, 1908), together with notes and an introduction that will provide readers with historical and biographical context.