José María De Pereda

Born Feb. 6, 1833, in Polanco, near Santander; died Mar. 1, 1906, in Santander. Spanish writer.

Pereda’s first works were sketches and stories in the costumbrismo manner, published in such collections as Escenas montañesas (Mountain Scenes, 1864), Tipos y paisajes (Types and Landscapes, 1871), and Esbozos y rasguños (Outlines and Sketches, 1881). These early works sympathetically portrayed the life of simple people. The novels El buey suelto (The Free Bull, 1878), Don Gonzalo Gonzálezdela Gonzalera (1878), De tal palo tal astilla (Like Father, Like Son, 1880), and La Montálvez (1888) critically depicted Spanish life from a religious and conservative viewpoint. In the novels El sabor de la tierruca (The Savor of Country Life, 1882) and Sotileza (1884), Pereda described patriarchal mores and the life of fishermen and mountaineers, re-creating their speech and portraying their environment.