10 h 37 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In old Spanish towns, ghosts linger close, and love can lead you toward a vision no one else can see.
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer’s Selected Works brings together the Rimas, the Leyendas and prose sketches. The short lyric poems ask what poetry is and trace love from wonder toward loss. Their quiet, musical voice makes room for private feelings: longing, loneliness and the pain of what no longer remains.
The legends lead through Toledo, Seville, Soria and the mountains of Aragon, where ghosts, curses and enchanted places draw desire toward danger. In one tale, a poet follows a figure in a moonbeam, certain the vision matters more than any living person. Here, the unseen feels close enough to follow.
What you’ll discover
- Love in a few lines Discover how the Rimas hold wonder, longing and disappointment within brief, plain poems.
- Old towns, uneasy shadows Enter legends where narrow streets and enchanted places bring the supernatural close.
- The pull of impossible desire Follow a poet toward a moonlit vision that draws him away from living people.
- Poetry looking at itself Explore poems that ask what poetry is, alongside their searching accounts of love.
- A quieter kind of darkness Feel the later Rimas turn toward sleeplessness, loneliness and the end of life.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like ghost stories with atmosphere, short lyric poems about love and loss, and old Spanish towns and legends. It may be less suited to anyone who wants fast plots or a modern, ironic tone.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A short life and a quiet revolution
- The Rimas ask what poetry is
- Love in the poems rises and fails
- The later poems turn toward loneliness and death
- The legends fill old Spain with spirits
- Desire, art and the price of dreams
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 10 h 37 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Ausgewählte Werke in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Ausgewählte Werke
Poems and legends turn on love, loss and supernatural encounters.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: Deutsch
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
A short life and a quiet revolution
Bécquer was born in Seville into a family of painters, and he grew up around brushes, canvases and talk of art. His brother Valeriano was a painter, and the two were close for most of their lives. Gustavo moved to Madrid to make his name as a writer, and money was always short. He worked as a journalist and held minor official posts, and he wrote the pieces we now prize in the gaps between that work.
His age in Spanish letters is called late Romanticism. Earlier Romantic poets in Spain often wrote in a grand, speech-making style, full of big gestures and loud feeling. Bécquer chose another road. He wanted a poem to be simple, brief and almost whispered, as if feeling arrived before the words did.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
1836–1870 · Spanish Romantic poet
Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer was a Spanish poet and prose writer born in Seville in 1836. He moved to Madrid in 1854 and died there in 1870. He wrote poems known as Rimas and prose legends known as Leyendas. A collection of his works was published after his death in 1871.
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer
All 2 books
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
Free
FreeOur mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Ausgewählte Werke
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What are the Rimas by Bécquer about?
The Rimas are short poems about love, poetry itself, loss, loneliness and death. They are written in plain language with simple rhyme and often end on an image or a question, not an answer.
What are the Leyendas by Bécquer?
The Leyendas are prose legends set in places such as Toledo, Seville and Soria. They mix local folklore with ghosts, enchanted figures and doomed love, and they are told in a slow, atmospheric style.
Why is Bécquer important in Spanish literature?
He is seen as a bridge from loud Romantic verse to a quieter, more personal poetry. Many later Spanish poets named him as an influence because of his simplicity and suggestive images.
Popular in short stories
See all
Free
Free
Free
