Surveys the thought and literary work of a towering figure in twentieth-century Spanish cultural and political life. As a novelist, dramatist, essayist, poet and public intellectual, Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) was a strikingly energetic and prolific writer, and a towering figure in twentieth-century Spanish cultural and political life. His work explored fundamental questions about existence and identity (both individual and national).Widely recognised and translated during his lifetime, he was an inescapably canonical figure on university syllabi across Europe and the Americas for many years after his death, and still appears on many curricula. In this Companion, a range of distinguished scholars with very different approaches both survey Unamuno's work chronologically, analysing major developments and turning points or breaks as well as continuities, and further study key themes and preoccupations across his prolific narrative, theatrical and essay output. All contributors offer not just incisive discussion of the texts or topics studied, but also a balanced overview of issues and debates arising in Unamuno studies. Julia Biggane is senior lecturer in Hispanic Studies at the University of Aberdeen. She is a general editor of theBulletin of Spanish Studies, and director of the Sir Herbert Grierson Centre for Textual Criticism and Comparative Literary History at the University of Aberdeen. John Macklin was Professor of Hispanic Studies and Head of the School of Modern Languages and Cultures at the University of Glasgow. In 1994, he was made a Commander of the Order of Isabel la Catolica by King Juan Carlos of Spain.

Mist (Niebla), published in 1914, is one of Miguel de Unamuno's key works; a truly Modernist work of Europe-wide significance which aims to shatter the conventions of fiction, using the novel as a vehicle for exploration of philosophical themes. The plot revolves around the character of Augusto, a wealthy, intellectual and introverted young man and his love affair with Eugenia, which eventually ends in heartbreak. Augusto decides to kill himself, but decides that he needs to consult Unamuno himself, who had written an article on suicide which Augusto had read. When Augusto speaks with Unamuno, the truth is revealed that Augusto is actually a fictional character whom Unamuno has created. Augusto is not real, Unamuno explains, and for that reason cannot kill himself. Augusto asserts that he exists, even though he acknowledges internally that he doesn't, and threatens Unamuno by telling him that he is not the ultimate author. Augusto reminds Unamuno that he might be just one of God's dreams. Augusto dies and the book ends with the author himself debating to himself about bringing back the character of Augusto. He establishes, however, that this would not be feasible. Following on from his translation of Abel Sanchez , John Macklin's edition provides a much needed new English translation, alongside the Spanish text, together with a substantial introduction.

Miguel de Unamuno (1864-1936) is the towering intellectual giant of early twentieth-century Spain. He wrote novels, plays, poetry and many essays, but is best remembered for his fictional works and for his major philosophical meditation on the nature of existence. Abel Sanchez, first published in 1917, is perhaps Unamuno's most intense expression of the tragic sense. It is the story of one man's suffering, born of his obsessive envy of his friend and the consequences of this for him and for those around him. The novel explores themes of identity, personal insecurity, inner and outer relationships, and otherness - dissected with an intensity and a passion that can leave no reader unaffected. John Macklin's edition provides a new English translation alongside the Spanish text, together with a substantial introduction.