Hidden Path

Hidden Path is a lyrical coming-of-age novel set in early twentieth-century Spain, narrated in the first-person by María Luisa, a woman painter who struggles to find her way with art and the women she loves. The novel explores María Luisa's growth from an imaginative tomboy to a docile wife and mother before claiming her independence as a portrait painter in Madrid's bohemian and queer circles. The poetic and sensuous language of María Luisas private reveries combines with agile dialogue, leading us through her life. Elena Fortún left this manuscript unpublished at the time of her death in 1952 due to its semi-autobiographical content, which risked provoking homophobic backlash under Francisco Franco's dictatorship. This edition, with Jeffrey Zamostny's sensitive and nuanced translation, marks the novel's first time appearing in any language aside from Spanish and the first of Fortún's works to appear in English.

\n Format: Paperback / softback
\n Length: 400 pages
\n Publication date: 01 March 2021
\n Publisher: Swan Isle Press
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Hidden Path, a lyrical coming-of-age novel set in early twentieth-century Spain, is narrated in the first-person by María Luisa, a woman painter who struggles to find her way with art and the women she loves. The novel spans from the turn of the twentieth century to the onset of the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939). María Luisa reflects on her life, growing from an imaginative tomboy to a docile wife and mother before claiming her independence as a portrait painter in Madrid's bohemian and queer circles. Along the way, she introduces us to a lively cast of characters who both hinder and encourage her efforts to blaze her own path.

The poetic and sensuous language of María Luisas private reveries blends with agile dialogue as the protagonist leads us through her life. Elena Fortún, best known in Spain as a writer of children's literature, left this manuscript unpublished at the time of her death in 1952 due to its semi-autobiographical content, which risked provoking homophobic backlash under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The first Spanish edition of Hidden Path appeared in 2016 and was hailed as Fortún's adult masterpiece, a previously unknown complement to her children's saga, Celia and Her World.

This edition, with Jeffrey Zamostny's sensitive and nuanced translation, marks the novel's first appearance in any language aside from Spanish. It is also the first of Fortún's works to appear in English. With an insightful foreword by scholar Nuria Capdevila-Argüelles, this volume will make a significant contribution to women's studies, LGBT histories, and Spanish literature and culture.

\n Weight: 614g\n
Dimension: 153 x 227 x 34 (mm)\n
ISBN-13: 9780997228786\n \n