This book reconstructs the poetics of Carmen Martín Gaite by viewing the concept of journey as a fundamental principle upon which she bases and elaborates her narrative writing of the 1990s. Five novels published in this period receive critical attention, all of which coincide with the last trips taken by the writer to New York: Caperucita en Manhattan (1990), Nubosidad variable (1992), La reina de las nieves (1994), Lo raro es vivir (1996) and Irse de casa (1998). To the extent that the journey is the essence of the narrative under consideration, the concept is analysed as an aesthetic practice and an attempt to identify a series of actions, which allow us to link the writer’s novels with two areas that have previously received only scant critical scrutiny: geography and the visual dimension. This book presents a comparative and interdisciplinary analysis of space in Martín Gaite’s narrative as well as in her collages, drawings and paintings.

This collection of essays examines current trends in scholarly research on Spanish author Carmen Martín Gaite (1925-2000). It concentrates on the least explored areas of Martín Gaite's oeuvre, such as her collage artwork, the relationship between image and text in her work, and her close relationship with themes such as genre writing, the fairy tale, and textual/physical notions of space, as well as her personal theories on orality and narration. As we pass the tenth anniversary of her death, Martín Gaite continues to be an increasing focus of study, as scholars start to identify and comprehend the breadth and scope of her work. The essays in the volume complement previous studies of Martín Gaite's major works from the 1960s and 1970s by focusing largely on her later novels, together with in-depth analysis of the manuscripts and artistic materials that have been made available since her death.

Calila: The Later Novels of Carmen Martín Gaite explores the last six novels by Spain ́s most honored contemporary woman writer. Its scholarship is enriched by the voice of Calila herself—as Brown called Martín Gaite, who was a dear friend—as they conversed and exchanged letters during the composition of the novels. The book opens with an introduction to Martín Gaite ́s life and literature and ends with a consideration of her legacy. Each central chapter analyzes a later novel in its historical, biographical, and critical contexts. From the young adult fantasy Caperucita en Manhattan (Red Riding Hood in Manhattan) to the post-Transition epistolary masterpiece Nubosidad variable (Variable Cloud), the Transition-era saga La Reina de las Nieves (The Farewell Angel), the Proustian reminiscence Lo raro es vivir (Living’s the Strange Thing), the narrative tapestry Irse de casa (Leaving Home), and the memoir of family secrets Los parentescos (Family Relations), these fascinating novels evoke themes that resonate today.

Blanco examines the relationship between life-writing in Martín Gaite's notebooks and her fictional work. Carmen Martín Gaite (1925-2000) was one of the most important Spanish writers of the second half of the twentieth century. From the 1940s, until her death in 2000, she published short stories, novels, poetry, drama, children literature and cultural and historical studies. This book studies life writing in Martín Gaite's notebooks Cuadernos de todo (2002) and her novels of the 1990s, Nubosidad variable (1992), La Reina de las nieves (1994), Lo raro es vivir (1996) and Irse de casa (1998). It looks at the use of first person narration in Martín Gaite's work, drawing a parallel between the notebooks and her fictional work. It further analyses the waythe author's notebooks relate to the development of her later novels as well as the use of writing as therapy. This work offers a way of looking at Carmen Martín Gaite's work from a personal and intimate perspective. Maria-José Blanco López de Lerma is Spanish Lecturer and Language Tutor at the Department of Spanish, Portuguese & Latin-American Studies, King's College London.