Set in early twentieth-century Spain, Hidden Path is a lyrical coming-of-age novel told from the perspective of a woman painter who struggles to find her way with art and with the women she loved. The novel is narrated in the first-person, following María Luisa as she reflects on her life from the turn of the twentieth century through the outset of the Second Spanish Republic (1931-1939). She recalls growing from an imaginative tomboy into a docile wife and mother before claiming her independence as a portrait painter in Madridcsquo;s bohemian and queer circles. Along the way, she introduces us to a lively cast of characters who both hinder and encourage her efforts to blaze her own path. The poetic and sensuous language of María Luisassquo;s private reveries comingles with agile dialogue as the protagonist leads us through her life.
Best known in Spain as a writer of children squo;s literature, Elena Fortún left this manuscript unpublished at the time of her death in 1952, as its semi-autobiographical content risked provoking homophobic backlash under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The first Spanish edition appeared in 2016 and was hailed as Fortúntsquo;s adult masterpiece, a previously unknown complement to her childrencsquo;s saga Celia and Her World. This edition, with Jeffrey Zamostnygsquo;s sensitive and nuanced translation, marks the novelfsquo;s first time appearing in any language aside from Spanish; it is also the first of Fortún squo;s works to appear in English. With an insightful foreword by scholar Nuria Capdevila-Argüelles, this volume will be an influential contribution to womenrsquo;s studies, LGBT histories, and Spanish literature and culture.
