La historia de la economía política es rica en ejemplos de precursores olvidados, cuya obra no despertó ningún eco en su tiempo y que sólo fueron redescubiertos cuando sus ideas más importantes habían sido ya difundidas por otros. Es también rica en notables coincidencias de descubrimientos simultáneos y de singulares peripecias de algunos libros. Pero difícilmente se encontrará en esta historia, ni en la de ninguna otra rama del saber, el ejemplo de un autor que haya revolucionado los fundamentos de una ciencia ya bien establecida y haya conseguido por ello general reconocimiento y que, a pesar de todo, haya sido tan desconocido como Carl Menger. Apenas si existen casos paralelos al de los Principios, que tras haber ejercido un influjo firme y permanente hayan tenido?debido a causas totalmente accidentales?tan limitada difusión.

In spite of the fact that detective fiction has been the most popular genre utilised by Spanish authors over the last thirty or so years, the female detective has appeared in such works on relatively rare occasions. Less frequent are Spanish female authors of detective fiction who employ a female detective as their main character. One author who has broken this stereotype is Reyes Calderón, with her female juez de instrucción (examining magistrate), originally created because the author was convinced that one popular, female, main character detective that did exist was simply "a man who was wearing a skirt" (interview with author). With the creation of her Basque character who, over the series, evolves from law-school professor to member of the Spanish Supreme Court, Calderón is able to "design a normal woman who confronts abnormal situations" (interview with author). Through such, Reyes Calderón aptly portrays both how far Spanish women have come since the days/restrictions of the Franco dictatorship but yet how remnants of conservative thought still pervade their mindset. She thus uses the most popular of genres to make a myriad of cultural observations concerning her native country and the women of "her generation". This book focuses on the female detective in Hispanic literature; the Lola MacHor Series, where via the main character Lola, Calderón is conducting a cultural studies experiment/explanation of modern-day Spain; concomitant issues of characterisation and Calderón's debt to Naturalism; Spanish novel writing and narrative style; and the pervading conservative/feminist dichotomy as it transpires in Spanish social commentary and moralising.

Tatiana Hernández Soto Licenciada en Periodismo Doctora en Ciencias de la información por la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (UCM) Especialista universitario en Comunicación Digital Correo: [email protected] Blog: http: //thernandez.blogia.com/ Skype: thernandezsoto Twitter: @tatianahsoto