This Very Short Introduction introduces the ways in which Spanish literature has been read, in and outside Spain, explaining misconceptions, outlining the insights of recent scholarship, and suggesting new readings. It explores the relationship between Spanish literature and modernity and issues of gender and sexuality.

Jo Labanyi is Professor of Spanish and Director of the King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center at New York University, having previously held chairs at the University of London (where she directed the Institute of Romance Studies from 1997-2002) and University of Southampton. She is founding editor of the Journal of Spanish Cultural Studies. Her research interests are in 19th- and 20th-century Spanish cultural history, including literature, film, visual culture, popular culture, gender, and memory. In 2005 she was elected a Fellow of the British Academy.

• Introduction


• 1: Multilingualism and porous boundaries


• 2: Spanish literature and modernity


• 3: Gender and sexuality


• 4: Cultural patrimony


• Further reading