Imagined truths : realism in modern Spanish literature and culture This volume of scholarly essays brings together the work of the foremost specialists in the field of contemporary Spanish letters. It represents not only the first collection to focus exclusively on the phenomenon of realism within the context of modern Spanish literature in more than a quarter century but also the first to be written in English. Imagined Truths appears at a significant moment of renewed interest in realism as a literary historical and cultural phenomenon. The essays in this collection address a broad range of authors works and topics from an exploration of the continued relevance of Cervantes Don Quixote to Juan Marses twenty first century detective fiction and they focus on the various ways in which we understand and process narratives as representative of a certain kind of reality. In addition to their valuable analyses of particular works and authors the essays constitute a much needed scholarly dialogue that expands our understanding of the unique place of realism in Spains cultural history. Introduction Mary L. Coffey and Margot Versteeg Part one.Nineteeth century Spanish realism : root and branch ;Arabellas veil : translating realism in Don Quijote con faldas (1808) Catherine Jaffe Between Costumbrista sketch and short story : Armando Palacio Valdess Aguas fuertes Enrique Rubio Cremades Money capital monstrosity : metaphorical matrices of realism in Antonio Floress Ayer hoy y mañana Rebecca Haidt Part two.Modernity and the parameters of nineteenth century Spanish realism ;The physician in the narratives of Galdós and Clarín Peter A. Bly Travelling by streetcar through Madrid with Galdós and Pardo Bazán Maryellen Bieder Urban hyperrealism : Galdóss Dickensian descriptions of Madrid Linda M. Willem Observed versus imaginative communities : creative realism in Galdóss Misericordia Susan M. McKenna Part three.Stretching the limits of Spanish realism ;Colonialism collages and thick description : Pardo Bazán and the rhetoric of detail Joyce Tolliver Embodied minds : critical erotic decisions in La Regenta Randolph D. Pope María Zambrano on women realism and freedom Roberta Johnson Part four.The challenges of genre : Spanish realism beyond the novel ;Writing (un)clear code : the letters and fiction of Emilia Pardo Bazán and Benito Pérez Galdós Cristina Patiño Eirín Volvía Galdós triunfante : Fortunata y Jacinta on stage (1930) David T. Gies When reality is too harsh to bear : role play in Juan Marsés Historia de detectives Stephanie Sieburth.