8 h 32 minAudiobook3 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
What does a good name protect when a secret threatens both a marriage and a friendship?
Among Madrid’s respectable families, Orozco wants a home built on honor, good faith and peace. His wife, Augusta, maintains the calm face of their marriage while struggling with feelings she cannot openly show. Their friend Federico Viera brings desire and duty into uneasy conflict, with a secret placing both bonds at risk.
In Reality, Benito Pérez Galdós lets conversation carry much of the drama. What people hide behind their words matters as much as what they say. Rosalía Pipaón brings the pressure of social opinion into view, while the household faces a difficult question: what does a person owe to love, honor and truth?
What you’ll discover
- A marriage under pressure Look beneath Augusta’s composed manner to the feelings she cannot safely share.
- Friendship caught between loyalties Follow Federico Viera as desire pulls against his wish to act rightly.
- The reach of gossip See how Madrid society presses on private lives, making reputation a constant concern.
- Words that conceal feeling Listen closely to conversations where polite speech leaves strong emotions just beneath the surface.
- The cost of appearances Consider what keeping a respectable face demands when private feelings resist public rules.
Who will love it
For readers who enjoy domestic drama, moral dilemmas and Spanish social life, especially stories where respectable manners hide strong feelings and secrets test marriage, friendship and honor.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A respectable marriage in Madrid
- A friend who disturbs the household
- Honor, appearance and the weight of a secret
- What the book says about living a lie
Who’s who
- OrozcoA trusted, upright husband who lives by clear rules of honor and good faith, and who wants peace and respect in his home.
- AugustaOrozco's wife, who keeps up the calm face of a respectable marriage while she struggles with feelings she cannot openly show.
- Federico VieraA friend close to the household, pulled between his desires and his sense of duty, and searching for a way to act rightly.
- Rosalía PipaónA woman of Madrid society who shows how opinion and gossip press on private lives.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Reality
by Benito Pérez Galdós · 1889
In a respectable Madrid household, a secret threatens a marriage and a friendship as honor clashes with truth.
Medium level5–10 hours to read25 languages
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A respectable marriage in Madrid
The story opens in the world of Madrid's comfortable middle and upper classes. Here a good name matters as much as money, and people watch each other closely. At the centre are Orozco and his wife Augusta, a couple whose life looks settled from the outside.
Galdós introduces them through talk, visits and conversations. We learn what they say, and slowly we sense what they leave unsaid. A reader soon feels that calm manners can sit on top of strain.
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What is Reality by Benito Pérez Galdós about?
It is a drama of Madrid society centred on a marriage, a close friend and a hidden secret. Galdós uses it to ask how honor, appearance and truth clash in private life.
When was Reality written?
Galdós published the novel, called Realidad in Spanish, in 1889. He later adapted it as a stage play. The setting is the Madrid of his own time, in the late nineteenth century.
Why is Reality written mostly as dialogue?
Galdós wanted the story to move through speech, so the reader hears what people say and senses what they hide. This gives the novel the feel of a stage drama.
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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