This is a familiar name to Spanish readers but I was only introduced to him last year, for which thank you, Jonathan.
He is a Spanish journalist who has become a novelist. His books are often historical novels combining a good story with evocative descriptive passages. I find them highly enjoyable. His main character, his Hornblower, is Captain Alatriste a Spanish soldier and swordsman living in the 17th century. If you get a taste for them there are seven, with more in the pipeline. But he writes outside this envelope too. I have read The Dumas Club, which was made into a film in 1999, directed by Roman Polanski and starring Johnny Depp, called The Ninth Gate.
Currently I am reading The Fencing Master, set in 19th century Madrid. The story, so far anyway, is perhaps a bit thin but the descriptions of the city make me want to go back and enjoy the cafes and the passeggiata. I am reading an English translation by Margaret Jull Costa and she does a good job in general. However, I must point out that I don’t think the Marqués de los Alumbres would suggest to his fencing master, “how about a sherry?”. Perhaps he might have invited him to join in a glass of sherry?
But I’m being small-minded. Read one of these books and you’ll step into a Goya picture.
