This is the story of a youngster who is entrusted to the household of a member of the Santiago elite. While living there he falls in love with his guardian's daughter, and their love provides a commentary about the mores of Chilean society.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1918 edition. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XL Let Us return to Dona Bernarda Coldero as she went back to her house after hearing from Don Damaso the revelation of the secret which her son had hidden from her. During her walk the irritation that this news had caused her increased, as may be well imagined. This revelation destroyed so many ambitious hopes, fostered by Amador, that, on seeing them vanish, her rancour against the deceit which had obliged her to relinquish them increased in proportion to the value that these hopes acquired when they were lost. It was thus that on entering her room she threw her mantle on a chair and called to her eldest daughter in a harsh voice. Adelaida came immediately. "Where is your brother ?" asked Dona Bernarda. "He is in his room," replied the girl. "Call him, I have to speak to you both." A few moments after they both arrived in the room where Dona Bernarda was waiting for them. Dona Bernarda looked at her son with an expression of concentrated rage., "So you have deceived me," she said, putting both her hands on her hips with a peculiar movement of her head. "I! Why? What is it?" replied Amador, who like all those who have a guilty conscience on account of a fault, suspected on the moment the meaning of this question, and he turned pale. "You don't know, then! Am I a fool that my children deceive me! Here is what is the matter. Is Adelaida married or not?" "But, mother, have I not been telling you all these last days that everything is arranged." "That for the arrangement! Have you nothing else to say? Truly! arranged treating us like negroes! What do you care if we have to wander in the street? Even little children will point us out." "Are things as bad as that?" said .Amador, dumfounded. Dona Bernarda was exasperated at this...

Highlighting the crucial yet largely overlooked role played by society's middle layers in the historical development of Latin America, Patrick Barr-Melej provides the first comprehensive analysis of the rise of Chile's middle-class reform movement and its

Martín Rivas (1862) is a novel by Alberto Blest Gana. Regarded as the first Chilean novel, Martín Rivas is a powerful story of romance, class, and national unity from an author who served for decades as a diplomat and ambassador for Chile. Inspired by the social realism of Honoré de Balzac, Blest Gana retains his European roots while remaining true to the emerging culture of his country. Martín Rivas has always feared the walls closing in. Born and raised in a poor mining community, he sees the limits placed on the lives of his friends and family. Generational poverty, instability, and bad health plague the workers of northern Chile, and he dreams of something more for his life. With his father's approval, Rivas travels to Santiago to take a job as a servant. Working in the home of a wealthy aristocrat, he does his best to acclimate himself to the manners and desires of the rich, but ultimately loses focus to his employer's beautiful daughter. Madly in love, he feels the walls inch closer once again. How will he reconcile his emotions with society's disapproval of relationships between members of opposing classes? How will he convince a man who controls his livelihood to allow him to court his own daughter? As he agonizes over his newly complicated reality, Rivas recalls how much he has overcome and wonders if it was worth the endless struggle. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Alberto Blest Gana's Martín Rivas is a classic of Chilean literature reimagined for modern readers.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

A study of the Chilean novel as well as a comprehensive annotated bibliography of secondary sources, with bibliographical information on 60 Chilean novelists.