The work of the British author Elinor Glyn was wildly successful in Spain. Twenty-five of her books were published between the years of 1926 and 1957 by Editorial Edita, during a period when the publishing sector created a number of collections of romance novels aimed mainly at female readers. Glyn's work was characterized by a high degree of exoticism and sensuality, far removed from the traditional, conservative world-view espoused in domestically written novels like those by Rafael Pérez y Pérez. The author's success was reflected in the Spanish press of the 1920s and 1930s. In addition, some of her most iconic works were adapted for the cinema and played on screens in Spain, which in turn helped to increase her popularity further. Her characters’ outbursts of passion caused the first editions of her books to be accompanied by texts justifying their publication and defending their suitability for female readers. Literary catalogues, listings that classified books according to moral criteria, did not share this opinion and deemed the books suitable only for highly educated readers.
---
The novel It, published in Spanish translation asEllo, saw two editions prior to its prohibition by the Franco regime’s censors. We could find no evidence of the film adaptation being released in Spain. (191)
---
Two novels by Glyn were prohibited by the Franco regime’s censors: the above-mentionedIt and Three Weeks. Nevertheless, the post-war era saw reprints of a dozen of the Spanish translations of Glyn’s novels. (194)
---
Three Weeks, represents the apex of carnal desire in Glyn's work. Here, the author recounts the attraction that a slender, mysterious woman awakens in an English nobleman. She is a married aristocrat, older and more experienced than the man, with whom she has a torrid affair. [...] The work as a whole exudes a strong sensuality and describes a relationship that is so far outside the norm that it can only end in tragedy. (198-199)
---
censored novel, It, was also quite sexually explicit. It tells the story of a brother and sister of aristocratic origin who find themselves financially ruined and decide that she should sell her body to a millionaire, who goes on to become her husband. (199)
---
In [Rafael] Pérez y Pérez's books and in Spanish romance novels in general, religion is a central theme. The protagonists often attend mass daily and pray frequently. Religious legends and festivals are recounted, and an emphasis is placed on the use of the rosary and on the religious tolling of church bells. [...] In Pérez y Pérez novels, life in general and women's lives especially revolve around the practice of religion, the driving force behind the protagonists’ actions, and around a tragic concept of life: suffering, sorrow, divine punishment and the demands of strict morality. The character of the priest, often an older, paternal figure, takes on a huge degree of importance as a spiritual and moral point of reference. (198)
---
the publishing industry was unwilling to pass up the potential profits it expected from the introduction of Glyn into the Spanish market. The author's novels were of great appeal because they featured a gallery of characters from European nobility and transported readers to faraway, provocative places, all without transgressing prevailing gender roles or threatening the dominant idea of the family. The high quotient of passion and violence in Glyn's protagonists was seen as acceptable as long as this occurred in the context of a marriage or resulted in a wedding. (199)
Here's the abstract:
---
---
---
---
---
---