Benito Pérez Galdós 
Trafalgar & Saragossa 
Spanish Historical Novels

‘Trafalgar’ is the historical novel of the Battle of Trafalgar. The action is narrated in the first person by Gabriel de Araceli, a heroic character, mixing his romantic and often folkloric biography. Gabriel is presented as a rogue orphan from Cádiz, who at the age of 14 gets involved in the battle of Trafalgar as a servant of an old Navy officer in the reserve. The action takes place in October 1805 and narrates with a certain epic rhythm, the preparations, development and outcome of the battle, with the boy enlisted in the Santísima Trinidad, flagship of the Spanish Navy.
‘Saragossa’ – Through the first-person narration of Gabriel de Araceli, the novel describes the second siege of Zaragoza, which occurred in January and February 1809, during the War of Independence between Spain and France. The story depicts one of his most stark pictures of the violence of the war, with meticulous descriptions of the preparations for the defense of the city, under General Palafox, the war skirmishes, the lack of food, the technical and material superiority of the French and the yellow fever epidemic that decimated the population of a Zaragoza.

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Benito Pérez Galdós (1843-1920) was a Spanish realist novelist. Some authorities consider him second only to Cervantes in stature as a Spanish novelist. He was the leading literary figure in 19th-century Spain. He remains popular in Spain, and is considered as equal to Dickens, Balzac and Tolstoy. While his plays are generally considered to be less successful than his novels, Realidad is important in the history of realism in the Spanish theatre.