Pepita Jimenez - 9781611090017

After the death of the Reverend Dean of the Cathedral in Madrid, a collection of letters is found among his papers. Many were written by the Dean’s nephew, Luis de Vargas, a fervent youth raised and educated in the seminary by his uncle after his mother’s death. As a priest-in-training, Don Luis travels to the small village of his birth to reconnect with his father and to meet his stepmother-to-be, an alluringly beautiful young widow by the name of Pepita Jimenez. Through Don Luis’s letters unfolds an extraordinary tale of temptation, love, family, and faith, as the young man struggles to reconcile his desire for the extraordinary Pepita with his love for his father and his obedience to his holy calling. The best known of nineteenth-century Spanish diplomat Juan Valera’s eight novels, this English translation is the first in many years since the original publication in 1874. Hailed as “delicious” and “exquisite,” Pepita Jimenez is an engaging introduction to a Spanish literary master.