Pérez De Hita, Ginés

Born circa 1544 in Mula, Murcia; died circa 1619 in Barcelona. Spanish writer.

Pérez de Hita helped suppress the revolt of the Moriscos (1568–70). He published the epic poem The Book About the Inhabitants and Exploits of the City of Lorca (1572) and The Seventeen Books of the Trojan War (1596). His chief work, The Civil Wars in Granada (first part, 1595; second part, 1604), is a historical novel dealing with the last years of the Arab domination of Granada (first part) and the revolt of the Moriscos (second part). It established the Granada genre, which continued developing in Spain until the late 19th century. Examples of the genre include the plays of Lope de Vega, P. Calderón, and F. Martínez de la Rosa and the novels of P. A. de Alarcón and M. Fernández y González. The genre also influenced novels by such writers as Comtesse de La Fayette, F. R. Chateaubriand, and W. Irving.