Schavelzon Graham Agencia literaria Barcelona

Leonora

NOVEL. SEIX BARRAL, 2011. 540 PAGES.

BIBLIOTECA BREVE PRIZE 2011

Elena Poniatoswka's exciting novel about the incredible life of British painter Leonora Carrington, the last surrealist to die, is an adventure story, a cry for freedom and an elegant depiction of the historical and artistic vanguards of the first half of the 20^th Century.

An indomitable woman, a rebellious spirit, Leonora Carrington -who at 94 still lived in Mexico and was a friend of the author's- is today a legend, and her fascinating life is the material from which this novel draws. This novel is based on her life. Imaginative and eccentric as a child and rebellious as a teenager, Leonora had an extremely turbulent love affair with the painter Max Ernst. It was he who introduced her into the world of surrealism where she rubbed shoulders with the likes of Dalí, Duchamp, Miró, Breton and Picasso. When Ernst was sent to a concentration camp during the 2nd World War, Carrington lost her mind and was interned in a mental hospital in Spain. After managing to escape, she moved to New York where she became a success thanks to the patronage of Peggy Guggenheim. In the end, she settled in Mexico where she continued to exercise her genius in the creation of some of the most original artistic and literary work of the 20^th Century. This is, quite simply, an unmissable novel.

"With her masterful command of language,

Elena Poniatowska has created a cosmopolitan setting

and a perturbing female figure who embodies the dreams

and nightmares of the 20th Century."

JURY OF THE BIBLIOTECA BREVE PRIZE 2011