Stories of Enchantment consists of seventeen stories by nine of nineteenth-century Spain's most well-known authors, and demonstrates convincingly that, although it had no Charles Perrault and no brothers Grimm, it maintained a rich oral vein of folktales and fostered stories in written form that are in keeping with the European tradition. Fernan Caballero in Andalusia and Antonio de Trueba in the Basque country steep themselves in local folklore to find inspiration for their morality and fairy tales; Luis Coloma's inventiveness inserts morality into fairy tales; Gustavo Adolfo Becquer and Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch sweep the reader into a world of enchantment, as does Pedro Antonio de Alarcon with his chariot ride; and Juan Valera, Benito Perez Galdos, and Leopoldo Alas evoke mystery, wonder, and the fantastic with tales that show they excel in short as well as long fiction.

With an Introduction by Alan E. Smith.

Contents:                 

The wishes ; The girl with three husbands ; Lovely-flower / Fernán Caballero -- The adventures of a tailor ; The king's son-in-law / Antonio de Trueba -- Beauty as punishment / Juan Eugenio Hartzenbusch -- Green bird ; Pérez the mouse / Luis Coloma -- Believe in God ; The devil's cross / Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer -- Death's friend / Pedro Antonio de Alarcón -- The green bird ; The wizard / Juan Valera -- The mule and the ox ; The princess and the street urchin / Benito Pérez Galdós -- My funeral ; Socrates' rooster / Leopoldo Alas.