A Romantic in Spain: 4 (Lost & Found S.) - Tapa dura

In 1840, French novelist Theophile Gautier was hired by the journal "La Presse" to write regular installments of a travelogue of his journey to and around Spain. Gautier recorded his experiences and impressions and the result was the 1845 book "Voyage en Espagne" - later translated into English as "A Romantic in Spain". For Gautier, Spain promised the allure of an exotic and passionate culture; it was a revelation, he said later, like discovering his true home, the native land of his spirit. Gautier covered the olive groves of Andalucia, the vibrant street life of Madrid, the central plains of La Mancha, and the Moorish buildings of Seville and Cordoba. Gautier, travelling by mule, carriage, or wagon, came into contact with a rich panoply of people and places. Gautier reveals a Spain in transition, emerging from civil war and a feudal past into the modern world.

Poet, novelist and art critic, Gautier was one of the most prominent French Romantic writers of the nineteenth century. Famous for his scarlet waistcoat and his motto "art for art's sake", he was at the heart of the Parisian literary world for forty years. He is best remembered for his novel 'Mademoiselle de Maupin' (1835) and his poetry collection 'Emaux et Camees' (1852)