7 h 39 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 7 h 39 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens to a young man's hopes for love when the city around him moves toward revolt?
Madrid, spring 1808. Gabriel Araceli is poor, quick-witted, and far from his home in Cádiz, with no family to help him. He wants to prove himself and build a life with Inés. But palace intrigue and the mutiny at Aranjuez shake the throne, while the arrival of Napoleon's troops brings uncertainty into the streets.
In The 19th of March and the 2nd of May, Benito Pérez Galdós brings Spain's upheaval close through Gabriel's voice. Marshal Joachim Murat holds Madrid as anger grows and fears spread about the royal family's departure. Gabriel's love for Inés gives him every reason to long for peace, just as private hopes and public loyalties pull him in different directions.
What you’ll discover
- A restless capital Enter a Madrid where curiosity about French soldiers gives way to growing anger.
- Love amid uncertainty Follow Gabriel's hopes for Inés as the country's troubles press upon his own.
- A throne under pressure See how the mutiny at Aranjuez brings down the powerful royal favorite Manuel Godoy.
- History from the street Meet a past shaped by servants, shopkeepers, crowds, and soldiers as well as kings.
- A personal view Stay close to Gabriel as an older man recalls his youth in a troubled capital.
Who will love it
For readers who love history told through a single human voice, and anyone curious about the Spanish roots of the war against Napoleon. Palace intrigue, love and loyalty bring Spain's uprising close through Gabriel Araceli's story.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A young man from Cádiz in Madrid
- The mutiny at Aranjuez shakes the throne
- French soldiers settle into the capital
- Love and loyalty pull Gabriel two ways
- The second of May draws near
- History as something lived by ordinary people
Who’s who
- Gabriel AraceliA young man from Cádiz who tells the story, working in Madrid, eager to prove himself and hoping for a life with Inés.
- InésThe young woman Gabriel loves, whose fate matters to him as much as the troubles of the country.
- Manuel GodoyThe powerful royal favorite and chief minister, hated by many Spaniards and brought down by the mutiny at Aranjuez.
- Joachim MuratThe French marshal who leads Napoleon's troops into Madrid and holds the city during the tense weeks before the uprising.
- Luis Daoíz and Pedro VelardeSpanish artillery officers remembered for resisting the French at the Monteleón barracks on the 2nd of May.
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- Audiobook
- 7 h 39 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
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- Paperback
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Le 19 mars et le 2 mai
by Benito Pérez Galdós · 1873
In Madrid, Gabriel Araceli hopes for a life with Inés as French troops arrive and a city moves toward revolt.
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In short
The 19th of March and the 2nd of May is a historical novel by Benito Pérez Galdós, published in 1873. It belongs to the first series of his Episodios Nacionales, a long run of novels that retell nineteenth century Spain through the eyes of ordinary people.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A young man from Cádiz in Madrid
The novel opens with Gabriel Araceli far from the sea. He is poor, quick-witted and without family to help him. In Madrid he must earn his bread by serving others, and the city teaches him how Spain is really ruled. Galdós uses this outsider's eye on purpose. Gabriel notices what a native might take for granted.
The Madrid of early 1808 is a tense place. The king, Charles IV, is weak and distracted. His chief minister, Manuel Godoy, holds great power and is widely hated. Rumors run through taverns, shops and great houses alike. People talk about French troops already marching across Spanish soil, supposedly as allies.
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What is The 19th of March and the 2nd of May about?
It follows a young man from Cádiz, Gabriel Araceli, in Madrid in 1808. He lives through the fall of Godoy at Aranjuez, the arrival of French troops and the uprising of the 2nd of May, while hoping for a life with Inés.
Is The 19th of March and the 2nd of May a true story?
The historical events are real, including the Aranjuez mutiny and the Madrid uprising. Gabriel Araceli and his personal story are invented by Galdós, who mixed a fictional narrator with real figures such as Godoy and Murat.
What are the Episodios Nacionales?
They are a long series of historical novels by Galdós, written from 1873 on, covering Spain from Trafalgar through much of the nineteenth century. This book is an early volume in the first series, and Gabriel Araceli narrates several of them.
The author
Benito Pérez Galdós
1843–1920 · Spanish realist novelist
Benito Pérez Galdós (1843–1920) was a Spanish novelist and playwright. He was born in Las Palmas in the Canary Islands and moved to Madrid in 1862. He wrote Marianela (1878), Fortunata and Jacinta (1886–1887), and Miau (1888), as well as the historical novel series Episodios nacionales. He died in Madrid.
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