Resumen
Resumen de El clavo
Para quién es
Readers who like a compact mystery with a courtroom at its heart, nineteenth century Spain, travellers' tales, and a plot that keeps one clever object in view from the first chapters to the last.
De qué trata este libro
The Nail is a short crime novella by Pedro Antonio de Alarcón, the Spanish writer who died in 1891. It is set in Andalusia in 1844 and told by a young lawyer named Felipe, who sees events unfold at the side of an old friend, a judge. It blends a travel sketch, a love story and a courtroom drama, and it rests on one chilling object.
You get a teller with a sense of humor, a judge who believes in duty above all, and a case built from a skull, a coffin board and a parish burial register. Along the way the book asks what the law can see and what it cannot. Let us begin on a dark road, in a stagecoach with one silent passenger.
En este resumen
- 1A silent companion in the dark coachFree
- 2A judge tells of his lost love
- 3A skull pierced by an iron nail
- 4Witnesses, a warrant and what it means
Idea clave 1 de 4
A silent companion in the dark coach
On a stormy autumn night in 1844, Felipe climbs into the Granada to Málaga stagecoach with ticket number two. Ticket number one is somewhere in the dark, and nobody answers his greeting. He fears a snorer, a smoker or a thief, and he finally reaches out with his hands. Nothing is there, and a flash of lightning shows him that he is alone.
At the first change of horses, a young woman in mourning steps in. She is pale, elegant and very beautiful, and Felipe cannot believe his luck. In the dark she answers him with single words. By daylight she warms a little, and they share lunch at Colmenar.
Then Felipe tries a word of love, and she stops him. She says love horrifies her, because she once loved to the point of madness and was betrayed. At Málaga she will not give her name, asks him to pray for her and rides off in a private carriage. Felipe thinks he will never see her again.
That’s 1 of 4 key points.
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About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 12,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 45 min
- Listening time1 h 20 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 10 other languages
Questions about El clavo
What is The Nail by Alarcón about?
It is a short Spanish crime tale. A lawyer named Felipe meets a mysterious woman on a stagecoach, then joins a judge friend who finds a skull with an iron nail in it and sets out to catch the killer.
Is The Nail a true story?
No, it is fiction by the nineteenth century Spanish writer Pedro Antonio de Alarcón. It uses real Spanish places such as Granada, Málaga, Seville and Córdoba, and a plausible legal process, to make its crime feel believable.
Who is Joaquín Zarco in The Nail?
Zarco is an investigating judge and Felipe's friend from law school. He is devoted to duty, still hurt by a lost love in Seville, and he leads the inquiry into the skull found in the cemetery.
Is The Nail easy to read?
Yes, in the sense that it is short and moves quickly. Chapters are brief with clear titles, the narrator speaks to the reader in a lively voice, and the clues come one at a time.
What is the main message of The Nail?
The story shows how duty and feeling can pull against each other, and how fate and appearances shape lives. It asks what a person owes the law and what is owed to love.