14 minSummaryRead it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the man you trust to explain life cannot understand his own heart?
Máximo Manso teaches philosophy in Madrid, offers sensible advice, and trusts the power of reason. He also begins his story by declaring that he does not really exist. In Our Friend Manso, Benito Pérez Galdós gives this gentle professor a playful voice and a difficult problem: feelings that refuse to fit his careful account of the world.
Manso takes pride in guiding his young pupil, Manuel Peña. But Manuel has ambitions and choices of his own, while Irene, a kind and sensible young woman, draws Manso's attention. A teacher, a pupil, and a woman who matters to both bring love and self-deception into a life built around thought. Understanding others proves easier than understanding himself.
What you’ll discover
- A narrator who plays tricks Meet a storyteller who invites your trust while insisting he is only a character.
- Reason meets the heart Follow a thoughtful man as feelings test the theories he relies on.
- The pride of teaching Watch Manso invest his hopes in Manuel Peña, whose choices shape their story.
- A woman beyond theory Discover how Irene tests the limits of Manso's careful way of living.
- The comfort of self-deception See how a clever mind can explain away the feelings it most needs to understand.
Who will love it
For readers who enjoy a witty narrator, a lively cast and a portrait of a whole city. It suits anyone who likes comic social fiction and stories about love and illusion.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An invented man reveals his blind spots
- Reason keeps an orderly household
- A pupil needs more than principles
- Poverty takes two different forms
- A kind act opens another door
- Charity becomes a stage for vanity
- Love refuses to follow a method
- Public applause hides private danger
- People need more than an explanation
Who’s who
- Máximo MansoA philosophy professor who rules his life by reason and the chickpea, and who discovers that theory does not prepare him for love.
- IreneA pale, quick-minded orphan raised by a scheming aunt, who becomes a governess and keeps her real wishes hidden from everyone.
- Manuel PeñaManso's pupil, a handsome, charming young man with a gift for oratory who wants action, drama and a place in the world.
- Doña JavieraA warm, plainspoken butcher's widow who adores her son, wants him to rise in society and grows fond of Manso.
- Doña CándidaA ruined widow nicknamed the gnat and Caligula, who lives on lies and loans and sees every rich household as prey.
- José María MansoThe professor's brother, back from Cuba with a fortune, hungry for politics, titles and praise, and careless of his family.
- LicaJosé María's simple, generous wife, struggling to become a European lady while her husband drifts away.
- Sainz del BardalA vain, tiresome poet and secretary of the charity society, who writes bad verse and organizes every grand evening.
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.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- 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.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook opens when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Our Friend Manso in 25 languages, side by side, paragraph by paragraph, once the book texts are online: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Our Friend Manso
by Benito Pérez Galdós · 1882
A professor who says he does not exist falls for a governess while a brazen widow drains his brother's household.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
Learn a language with medium classicsSpanishFrenchGermanItalianJapanesePortugueseEnglishHow we measure levels
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeRenews every year · Cancel anytimeHow it works
- Read, large type too
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
“A preacher who does not practice what he preaches is no preacher, but a pulpit that talks.”
In short
What if the man telling you his story says, in the first line, that he does not exist? That is how Our Friend Manso begins.
Our Friend Manso at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h 25 min5 h 5 min fast, 7 h 40 min slow
- Length
- 91,600 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1882by Benito Pérez Galdós
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A narrator who says he does not exist
The novel opens with a joke that is also a warning. Máximo Manso swears that he has no body, no bones and no real life. He calls himself a chimera, a figure dreamed up by a writer and sold by the yard like cloth.
His novelist friend, worn out by thirty volumes, came to buy a story. He dropped Manso into a drop of ink, set a paper on fire and shook it all in a flask. Manso steps out of the red flame as a man, and the first thing he feels is pain.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer. Your place follows you, and you can make the type as big as you like.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1882
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Pérez Galdós, Benito. Our Friend Manso. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/our-friend-manso.
Pérez Galdós, B. (2026). Our friend Manso. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/our-friend-manso (Original work published 1882)
Pérez Galdós, Benito. Our Friend Manso. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/our-friend-manso.
@book{perezgaldos2026our,
author = {Pérez Galdós, Benito},
title = {Our Friend Manso},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/our-friend-manso},
note = {First published 1882}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every eBookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Our Friend Manso
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 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.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Our Friend Manso about?
It follows Máximo Manso, a philosophy professor in Madrid who lives by strict reason. His life is upset by a butcher's widow, a scheming old lady, his rich brother from Cuba and a young governess named Irene.
Who is Máximo Manso in the novel?
He is the narrator and hero, a thirty-five-year-old Asturian professor with two doctorates. He begins the book by saying he does not exist, only a figure made by a novelist friend, and then tells his story in a comic first-person voice.
When was Our Friend Manso written and is it a true story?
Galdós wrote it in Madrid in 1882. It is fiction, but it paints a close picture of real Madrid around 1880, including its politics, salons, charity evenings, theatres and streets.
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.
“A preacher who does not practice what he preaches is no preacher, but a pulpit that talks.”
More by Benito Pérez Galdós
See all their booksMore like this
Our 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 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
