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Eager to imitate the great things of men, the boys also made our squads, with small ships, roughly carved, to which we put paper or cloth sails, marinating them with great determination and seriousness in any puddle in Puntales or La Caleta. So that everything was complete, when a room came into our hands through any of the industrial routes that were ours, we bought gunpowder at the house of Aunt Coscoja on Calle del Torno de Santa María, and with this ingredient we would have a complete show more naval party . Our fleets threw themselves into the wind in oceans three yards wide; they shot their pieces of cane; They collided imitating bloody boardings, in which their imaginary crew fought with glory; the smoke covered them, revealing the flags, made with the first colored cloth found in the trash cans; and while we danced with rejoicing on the coast, to the roar of artillery, imagining ourselves to be the nations to which those ships belonged, and believing that in the world of men and great things, the nations would dance the same, witnessing victory. Of his beloved squads. Boys see everything in a unique way. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
Trafalgar might have the ambition to be a so-called 'literary novel' (and it surely is acknowledged as such by Galdós aficionados, which I am not) but to me it's just one of these epic and tumultuous read one go through with the enthusiasm of a little boy dreaming of far-away adventure and heroics. In other words, I found it all so simple (shallow, at times) that it reads like a YA adventure book. It's not a bad thing (there's absolutely nothing wrong with YA adventure books!) but that wasn't its intentions... Ouch!
Gabriel, bored teenager tired of his dull childhood spent in Cadiz, decides to go and satisfy his thirst for glory and adventure by enrolling into the Spanish navy (I warned you it would be kid-friendly!). We are in 1805, show more and, so, of course, he will ultimately be led to participate in one of the most famous and important naval battle ever: Trafalgar. Wild and enthusiastic, the boy will then quickly turned into a grown-up man, not only through the dangers of the seas, but, also, the horrors of war.
The plot is like the characters -simple and predictable. Galdós even allows himself a dash of romance! Yet, the adventurous spirit is a delight, and the references to Napoleon, the weak Spanish government back then, and, the relationship with Britain are all quite entertaining, while rendering quite well the spirit of the time. If you love history...
To me personally this was nothing more than an historical novel with a childish soul, but, since I love history... show less
Gabriel, bored teenager tired of his dull childhood spent in Cadiz, decides to go and satisfy his thirst for glory and adventure by enrolling into the Spanish navy (I warned you it would be kid-friendly!). We are in 1805, show more and, so, of course, he will ultimately be led to participate in one of the most famous and important naval battle ever: Trafalgar. Wild and enthusiastic, the boy will then quickly turned into a grown-up man, not only through the dangers of the seas, but, also, the horrors of war.
The plot is like the characters -simple and predictable. Galdós even allows himself a dash of romance! Yet, the adventurous spirit is a delight, and the references to Napoleon, the weak Spanish government back then, and, the relationship with Britain are all quite entertaining, while rendering quite well the spirit of the time. If you love history...
To me personally this was nothing more than an historical novel with a childish soul, but, since I love history... show less
En Trafalgar lo perdimos todo. Sin nuestros barcos, algunos los mejores de la epoca, no podiamos defender nuestras colonias en America ni mantener ninguna posicion en el mar, con Francia cortandonos la salida terrestre España no tenia mas opcion que quedarse convertida en lo que es actualmente.
Buen libro para entender el contexto de todo lo que paso de una manera amena.
Buen libro para entender el contexto de todo lo que paso de una manera amena.
En Trafalgar lo perdimos todo. Sin nuestros barcos, algunos los mejores de la epoca, no podiamos defender nuestras colonias en America ni mantener ninguna posicion en el mar, con Francia cortandonos la salida terrestre España no tenia mas opcion que quedarse convertida en lo que es actualmente.
Buen libro para entender el contexto de todo lo que paso de una manera amena.
Con la batalla de Trafalgar, en la que junto con los barcos se hundió definitivamente el poderío naval español, inició Galdós la serie de sus Episodios nacionales, ese gran retablo histórico, cruelmente divertido si no fuera tan triste, de nuestro azaroso siglo XIX. Una hábil conjunción de historia y fábula le sirve para narrar los hechos históricos propiamente dichos, mientras rellena los intersticios de la historia con oportunos detalles imaginados, que proporcionan vida y calor humano a lo que sólo fue acontecimiento. De este modo se entrelazan vida e historia, fábula y mito, dando como resultado Trafalgar: una pequeña obra maestra, que nadie puede leer sin conmoverse.
Nov 2, 2022Spanish
Doblemente interesante para mí. Por un lado, porque me ha enseñado un trozo de historia de España de forma muy amena; por otro lado, por el lenguaje terriblemente moderno que utiliza. Hay una gran cantidad de expresiones que jamás hubiera pensado fueran utilizadas en 1873.
Dec 10, 2010Spanish
Breve y entretenido libro sobre la aventura de un chaval que se enfrasca en uno de los combates más conocidos de la historia Occidental. Para leer y entretenerse durante ratos cortos, está muy bien.
Oct 23, 2025Spanish
Novel.la que explica la batalla de Trafalgar entre la flota anglesa i el combinat francès-espanyol.
Comença amb aquest llibre la sèrie dels Episodis Nacionals. A cavall entre la novel.la històrica i la ficció el que surt guanyant és la seva finalotat didàctica i això condiciona fins i tot el ritme de la narració que fa que perdi espontaneïtat i que alguns capítols semblin estar encaixats a la força. Tot i això resulta molt fàcil de llegir i sembla mentida que molts dels seus paràgrafs podrien ilustrar els reportatges d'un telenoticies actual.
Molt recomanable.
Comença amb aquest llibre la sèrie dels Episodis Nacionals. A cavall entre la novel.la històrica i la ficció el que surt guanyant és la seva finalotat didàctica i això condiciona fins i tot el ritme de la narració que fa que perdi espontaneïtat i que alguns capítols semblin estar encaixats a la força. Tot i això resulta molt fàcil de llegir i sembla mentida que molts dels seus paràgrafs podrien ilustrar els reportatges d'un telenoticies actual.
Molt recomanable.
Jan 8, 2012Catalan
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Perez Galdos was Spain's outstanding nineteenth-century novelist. At a time when most Spanish novelists were limited by their regional backgrounds, Galdos possessed the intellect and vision to embrace the Spanish people as a nation. In 1873 he began the Episodios nacionales (National Episodes), a 46--volume series of historical novels in which he show more was concerned less with details and facts of history than with their impact on the lives of ordinary people. His works are sometimes divided into two periods: novels of the first period and contemporary Spanish novels. His early novels, Dona Perfecta (1876), Gloria (1877), Marianela (1878), and The Family of Leon Roch (1879), may be characterized as realistic with touches of romanticism. The novels are united by common characters and themes in the manner of Balzac's Human Comedy. Dona Perfecta is a denunciation of intolerance. Marianela explores the irony and tragedy of the destruction of love by scientific progress. Fortunata and Jacinta (1886-87), a four-volume masterpiece of the second period, contrasts two women - Jacinta, wife of the wealthy middle-class Juanito Santa Cruz, and Fortunata, his mistress. Both are admirable characters, but it is Fortunata who bears a son, demonstrating the vitality of the lower classes. The character of Maxi reveals Galdos's interest in mental illness and his naturalistic strain. Born and educated in the Canary Islands, Perez Galdos studied law briefly and spent most of his adult life in Madrid. His study of lower-class Spanish life and his attempts to improve it led him to the advocacy of more equal distribution of wealth and outspoken opposition to the Catholic church. While always popular with the people, he fared less well in literary circles. In 1889 he sought admission to the Royal Academy, an honor he was refused until 1897, and the Nobel Prize went to a contemporary, Jose Echegaray, a writer of considerably less talent. Galdos died poor and blind. Although the government refused him a state funeral, the entire Spanish nation mourned him. English translations of his novels now out of print are The Disinherited Lady (1881), Miau (1888), Compassion (1897), and Tristana. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Trafalgar
- Original title
- Trafalgar
- Original publication date
- 1873
- People/Characters
- Gabriel de Araceli
- Important places*
- Cádiz, Andalucía, España; Cádiz, Andalusia, Spain
- Important events
- Battle of Trafalgar
- First words*
- Se me permitirá que antes de referir el gran suceso de que fui testigo, diga algunas palabras sobre mi infancia, explicando por qué extraña manera me llevaron los azares de la vida a presenciar la terrible catástrofe de n... (show all)uestra marina.
- Original language
- Spanish
- Disambiguation notice*
- Benito Pérez Galdós (1843-1920), tra i più importanti autori spagnoli del XIX secolo, scrive una delle più belle pagine del romanzo storico di tutti i tempi, facendo immergere il lettore in un universo ricco di personaggi... (show all) e di avvenimenti in ebollizione, abitato da un’umanità viva che assiste con sgomento al declino del proprio mondo.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, General Fiction, Historical Fiction
- DDC/MDS
- 863.5 — Literature & rhetoric Spanish Literature Spanish fiction 19th century 1800–1900
- LCC
- PQ6555 — Language and Literature French, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese literatures Spanish literature Individual authors, 1700-ca. 1868
- BISAC
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- Reviews
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- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 83
- ASINs
- 32
