Ramón de Mesonero Romanos (19 July 1803 – 30 April 1882) was a Spanish

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

writer who was born in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Biography

At an early age, he became interested in the

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

and

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

of his native city. His ''Guía de Madrid'' (1831) was published when literature was at a low ebb in Spain, but the author's curious researches and direct style charmed the public. Next year, in a review entitled ''Cartas españolas'', under the pseudonym "El Curioso Parlante", he began a series of articles on the social life of the capital, which were subsequently collected and called ''Panorama matritense'' (1835–1836). Mesonero Romanos was elected to the Spanish Academy in 1838 and, though he continued to write, had somewhat outlived his fame when he issued his pleasing

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

, ''Memorias de un Setentón, natural y vecino de Madrid'' (1880). He died in Madrid, shortly after the publication of his ''Obras completas'' (8 vols, 410, 1881). His place of burial is the

Saint Isidore Cemetery Saint Isidore Cemetery is a monumental cemetery in the Spanish capital Madrid. Its first courtyard was erected in 1811 and new expansions were added throughout the 19th Century. Its central courtyard, called "Patio de la Concepción" (Conception c ...

in Madrid.

References

External links

1803 births 1882 deaths Spanish male writers Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Madrid city councillors Writers about Madrid {{Madrid-politician-stub