A masterpiece of ethnographic observation on seventeenth-century Spain. While mysteries remain in her biography, Madame d’Aulnoy’s tremendous literary talent is finally being rediscovered. Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, baronne d’Aulnoy (1652–1705) was the first Frenchwoman to write, publicize, and publish the account of her travels into Spain as an independent woman. Considered the authority on Spain for nearly two centuries until historiographers labeled them as disreputable, Travels into Spain can now be appreciated for its ironic gaze on realities concealed from male travelers and Madame d’Aulnoy’s unabashedly female and often playful voice. Her writing casts a unique light on gender relations, the condition of women, cultural biases, national rivalries, and religious superstitions at a critical time in early modern cultural and literary history. The first modern translation of Travels into Spain, this book situates Madame d’Aulnoy’s account in its historical context. Travels into Spain is a masterpiece of ethnographic observation, expressing a woman’s view on gender relations, marriage, religion, fashion, food, bullfights, and the Inquisition.
