Episodios Nacionales

The Episodios Nacionales (National Episodes) are a collection of forty-six historical novels written by Benito Pérez Galdós between 1872 and 1912. They are divided into five series and they deal with Spanish history from roughly 1805 to 1880. They are fictional accounts which add characters invented by the author within historical events.

First series
Manuscript of Trafalgar, 1873. Biblioteca Nacional de España.
Manuscript of La familia de Carlos IV, 1873. Biblioteca Nacional de España.

With the exception of Gerona, all the episodes follow the adventures of the boy Gabriel de Araceli, beginning in French-dominated Spain through the war of Independence, from the battle of Trafalgar to the defeat of the French armies (1805–1814). There are ten books in this series:

Second series
Manuscript of El terror de 1824, 1877. Biblioteca Nacional de España.

Written between 1875 and 1879, it is a series of ten books. Its main character, who is not always the protagonist, is the liberal crusader Salvador Monsalud. At first a guard of King José I, he helps the king escape Spain with the crown jewels, which Jose would sell to pay for his new life in America. Remaining in Spain, Salvador is estranged from power during the six years of absolutist monarchy of Fernando VII (1814–1820), lauded during the Liberal Triennium (1820–1823) and persecuted during the Ominous Decade (1823–1833). His perpetual dissatisfaction guides us through the convulsions of Spain under Fernando, where future conflicts could be seen to have their beginnings. The titles of the Episodes are:

After this series, Galdós did not plan to continue, but after the Spanish–American War (the "Disaster of '98"), he decided to follow with another series.

Third series
First edition of Zumalacárregui, 1898. Biblioteca Nacional de España.
Manuscript of La de los tristes destinos, 1907. Biblioteca Nacional de España.

The divided Spain of the First Carlist War and the Regency of Maria Cristina is the setting of the following episodes, which revolve around the romantic Fernando Calpena. The ten episodes that comprise the series are:

Fourth series

José García Fajardo, uninterested in politics, unlike the protagonists of the previous series, is the main character of this series of ten episodes which encompass the entire reign of Isabel II, a contemporary of the author. The titles of this series are:

Fifth series
Manuscript of Amadeo I, 1910. Biblioteca Nacional de España.

Tito, a first-person narrator who is not a real person, but a conceit of the author to create thoughtful dialogue, featured in this unfinished series, which begins during the Glorious Revolution in Spain, and contains only six published titles and a draft:

References
  1. In Spanish: Trafalgar; in English: Trafalgar
  2. In Spanish: La corte de Carlos IV
  3. In Spanish: El 19 de marzo y el 2 de mayo
  4. In Spanish: Bailén
  5. In Spanish: Napoleón en Chamartín
  6. In Spanish: Zaragoza; in English: Saragossa
  7. In Spanish: Gerona
  8. In Spanish: Cádiz
  9. In Spanish: Juan Martín el Empecinado
  10. In Spanish: La batalla de los Arapiles
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