Eugenio Sellés y Ángel, Marquess of Gerona and Viscount of Castro and Orozco (8 April 1842 - 12 October 1926) was a Spanish writer, journalist, playwright and politician.

Life

Eugenio Sellés was born in Granada. His father, Pedro Sellés y Garrido, was a magistrate in the city, with other duties and appointments also necessitated a substantial amount of travelling to other Spanish cities. Through his mother, Francisca de Paula Ángel y Castro, Eugenio was a member of the nobility, descended from Governor Mariano Álvarez de Castro. He studied Law at the Royal College in Granada, before qualifying at Madrid in 1862. Shortly afterwards he received a further qualification in

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...

and embarked on a legal career as a prosecutor in

Extremadura Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...

. In 1869 he switched to political journalism. He supported Sagasta's

progressivism Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, tec ...

, contributing to newspapers and periodicals such as La Iberia, La Revolución, El Universal,

El Imparcial ''El Imparcial'', founded in 1918, was a newspaper in Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Assoc ...

, El Pueblo, El Globo and

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

. During the regency under General Serrano, Sellés was the governor of

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

and Granada. With the

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

he switched again, pursuing a vocation as a dramatist, emerging as a leading disciple of

José Echegaray José Echegaray y Eizaguirre (19 April 183214 September 1916) was a Spanish civil engineer, mathematician, statesman, and one of the leading Spanish dramatists of the last quarter of the 19th century. He was awarded the 1904 Nobel Prize in Li ...

, albeit with a quite different dramatic style. On 2 June 1895 he was appointed a member of the Royal Academy in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

, delivering his inaugural address on the subject of Journalism (''"El periodismo"''). He also headed up the literary section of the Madrid Athenæum. Eugenio Sellés married Avelina de Rivas y Cano. Their daughter, Elisa Sellés y Rivas, was born on 16 May 1885.

Theatrical works (not a complete list)

*''La torre de Talavera'' (1877) *''El nudo gordiano'' (1878) *''Las vengadoras'' (1884) *''La vida pública'' (1885). *''La mujer de Lot'' (1896). *''Ícara'', (1910). *''Maldades que son justicias''. *''El cielo y el suelo''. *''Las esculturas de carne''. *''La balada de la luz'' (1900), zarzuela, music by

Amadeu Vives Amadeu Vives i Roig (; 18 November 1871 – 2 December 1932) was a Spanish musical composer, creator of over a hundred stage works. He is best known for '' Doña Francisquita'', which Christopher Webber has praised for its "easy lyricism, flue ...

. *''Campanas y cornetas'' (1902), zarzuela, music by Joaquín Valverde. *''La Barcarola'', 1901, zarzuela, music by Amadeu Vives. *''La Nube'', 1902, zarzuela, music by Amadeu Vives. *''El Corneta de la partida'', 1903, zarzuela, music by Joaquín Valverde. *''Guardia de honor'', 1905, zarzuela, music by

Ruperto Chapí Ruperto Chapí y Lorente (27 March 1851 – 25 March 1909) was a Spanish composer, and co-founder of the Spanish Society of Authors and Publishers. Biography Chapí was born at Villena, the son of a Valencian barber. He trained in his home to ...

. *''Amor en capilla'', 1908, zarzuela, music by de Ruperto Chapí.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selles, Eugenio 19th-century Spanish writers 19th-century male writers 20th-century Spanish writers 20th-century Spanish male writers Spanish dramatists and playwrights Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Spanish journalists 19th-century Spanish politicians Marquesses of Spain Viscounts of Spain People from the Province of Granada University of Granada alumni 1842 births 1926 deaths