Dona Luz: A Novel / by Juan Valera ; Translated from the Spanish by Robert M. Fedorchek ; Introduction by Beth Wietelmann Bauer

Dona Luz tells the story of an impoverished and refined, but illegitimate, young woman, Dona Luz, who has had to leave the aristocratic milieu of nineteenth-century Madrid for the rural Andalusian town of Villafria. After the death of her financially ruined father, Dona Luz goes to live with Don Acisclo, his steward. Although beautiful and cultured, she rejects all suitors to lead a withdrawn, secluded life, a life that takes an intensely spiritual turn with the arrival of Father Enrique, the steward's missionary nephew. They are kindred souls who are drawn to each other, only to be separated by the dashing representative Don Jaime Pimentel, who is elected district representative through the machinations of Don Acisclo. Jaime represents the human love that Luz thought unattainable, while the priest represents the divine love that may also be unattainable, and the choices that Luz makes not only determine the new direction of her life, but also resolve the mystery of her illegitimacy. Because Dona Luz has survived as a classic in Spanish literature for well over one hundred years, it needs this new English translation to replace the 1891 version that suffers from numerous, and sometimes lengthy, omissions and dated language.Juan Valera is the author of 'Dona Luz: A Novel / by Juan Valera ; Translated from the Spanish by Robert M. Fedorchek ; Introduction by Beth Wietelmann Bauer' with ISBN 9780838755365 and ISBN 0838755364.