Cartas marruecas

work by Cadalso y Vázquez

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Cartas marruecas (Moroccan Letters) is a work by Spanish writer José de Cadalso y Vázquez, published in 1793. The book features a Moorish traveler in Spain who offers critical observations on Spanish life. Written around 1774, it was inspired by epistolary works from authors like Oliver Goldsmith and Montesquieu. Cadalso is considered a precursor to Spanish Romanticism, though his work also shows neoclassical influences. His other notable works include the satire Los eruditos a la violeta (Wise Men Without Learning) and the autobiographical prose work Noches lúgubres (Sombre Nights).12

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José de Cadalso y Vázquez
…Spanish writer famous for his Cartas marruecas (1793; “Moroccan Letters”), in which a Moorish traveler in Spain makes penetrating criticisms of Spanish life. Educated in Madrid, Cadalso traveled widely and, although he hated war, enlisted in the army against the Portuguese during the Seven Years’ War. His prose satire Los…
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…Spanish writer famous for his Cartas marruecas (1793; “Moroccan Letters”), in which a Moorish traveler in Spain makes penetrating criticisms of Spanish life. Educated in Madrid, Cadalso traveled widely and, although he hated war, enlisted in the army against the Portuguese during the Seven Years’ War. His prose satire Los…
Read More

Spanish literature
New critical approaches
…Without Learning”) and the brilliant Cartas marruecas (written c. 1774, published 1793; “Moroccan Letters”), inspired by the epistolary fictions of Oliver Goldsmith and Montesquieu—and the enigmatic Noches lúgubres (written c. 1774, published 1798; “Mournful Nights”), a Gothic and Byronic work that anticipates Romanticism.
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…Without Learning”) and the brilliant Cartas marruecas (written c. 1774, published 1793; “Moroccan Letters”), inspired by the epistolary fictions of Oliver Goldsmith and Montesquieu—and the enigmatic Noches lúgubres (written c. 1774, published 1798; “Mournful Nights”), a Gothic and Byronic work that anticipates Romanticism.
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