by Fernán Caballero

Cecilia Böhl von Faber, known by her pen name Fernán Caballero, was born in 1796 in Morges, Vaud, Switzerland, to intellectual parents. Her father, Johann Nikolaus Böhl von Faber, was a German scholar and naturalized Spanish citizen whose writings introduced the theories of German Romanticism into Spain. Of Spanish and Irish heritage, her mother presided over literary gatherings. Caballero spent her early childhood in Cádiz, Spain, then moved to Germany, where for seven years she attended a French school. Upon her return to Cádiz at age 16, she beheld her country through the curious eyes of a foreigner, keenly noting Spanish habits, diversions, and speech patterns, observations that would stand her in good stead when she sat down to portray Spanish character types and customs, a hallmark of her writings. Widowed twice while still young, Caballero found...