Maria-Lluisa Gea-Valor – författare

Enric Valor is one of the most important Valencian authors of the 20th century. This selection of his highly popular rondalles (folk tales) will for the first time introduce his work to an English-speaking audience. At a time when Catalan was under threat from the cultural bulldozer of the Franco regime, which condemned the use of anything but Castilian Spanish in public communication, Valor went to great lengths to disseminate knowledge of the language, through writing grammars and linguistic studies, as well as teaching it to fellow inmates when he was imprisoned by the regime for his cultural activities. These tales, collected over a number of years in small villages in the province of Alacant, were a significant part of his ongoing efforts to safeguard the Catalan language and the culture and history of the region. The Rondalles Valencianes have been compared to Italo Calvino’s Italian Folk Tales and Henri Pourrat’s Treasury of French Folk Tales. Like them, Valor aimed in rewriting the oral material to establish a common national body of folk narratives and to make the stories more appealing to Valencian readers, young and old alike. The critical Introduction provides an outline of the author’s life and an overview of his work as novelist, grammarian and folklorist, as well as an assessment of the tales which identifies their place within the broader European folklore tradition.

Enric Valor is one of the most important Valencian authors of the 20th century. This selection of his highly popular rondalles (folk tales) will for the first time introduce his work to an English-speaking audience. At a time when Catalan was under threat from the cultural bulldozer of the Franco regime, which condemned the use of anything but Castilian Spanish in public communication, Valor went to great lengths to disseminate knowledge of the language, through writing grammars and linguistic studies, as well as teaching it to fellow inmates when he was imprisoned by the regime for his cultural activities. These tales, collected over a number of years in small villages in the province of Alacant, were a significant part of his ongoing efforts to safeguard the Catalan language and the culture and history of the region. The Rondalles Valencianes have been compared to Italo Calvino’s Italian Folk Tales and Henri Pourrat’s Treasury of French Folk Tales. Like them, Valor aimed in rewriting the oral material to establish a common national body of folk narratives and to make the stories more appealing to Valencian readers, young and old alike. The critical Introduction provides an outline of the author’s life and an overview of his work as novelist, grammarian and folklorist, as well as an assessment of the tales which identifies their place within the broader European folklore tradition.

Enric Valor (1911–2000) is one of the most important Valencian authors of the 20th century. He has been, until now, almost completely unknown to an English-speaking audience. Following the publication of Valencian Folktales (2023), this second collection of his tales will help to consolidate work done on Valor in English, opening up both his fiction and the specificity of Valencian culture to Anglophone readers. The stories included here offer a sampling of the various types of tales he wrote: magical-theme tales, local-color tales and tales with personified animals. Valor collected these stories from the inhabitants of small towns and villages in the south of the Valencian territory and later gave them a polished, literary reworking. They are characterized by a detailed and lyrical treatment of the landscape and natural habitat of the region and an entertaining sense of humor. The selection begins with an introduction written by Maria-Lluisa Gea-Valor, co-translator and the author’s granddaughter. It provides a brief background to Valor’s biography, discusses the selected tales in the context of the folklore tradition and examines issues of the translation process, ranging from general considerations to more specific aspects.

Enric Valor (1911–2000) is one of the most important Valencian authors of the 20th century. He has been, until now, almost completely unknown to an English-speaking audience. Following the publication of Valencian Folktales (2023), this second collection of his tales will help to consolidate work done on Valor in English, opening up both his fiction and the specificity of Valencian culture to Anglophone readers. The stories included here offer a sampling of the various types of tales he wrote: magical-theme tales, local-color tales and tales with personified animals. Valor collected these stories from the inhabitants of small towns and villages in the south of the Valencian territory and later gave them a polished, literary reworking. They are characterized by a detailed and lyrical treatment of the landscape and natural habitat of the region and an entertaining sense of humor. The selection begins with an introduction written by Maria-Lluisa Gea-Valor, co-translator and the author’s granddaughter. It provides a brief background to Valor’s biography, discusses the selected tales in the context of the folklore tradition and examines issues of the translation process, ranging from general considerations to more specific aspects.

Enric Valor (1911–2000) is one of the most important Valencian authors of the 20th century. This third selection of his highly popular rondalles (folktales) will complete the publication of his folktales in English translation. At a time when Catalan was under threat from the cultural bulldozer of the Franco regime, which condemned the use of anything but Castilian Spanish in public communication, Valor went to great lengths to disseminate knowledge of the language, through writing grammar and linguistic studies (as well as teaching it to fellow inmates when he was imprisoned by the regime for his cultural activities). These tales, collected over a number of years in small villages in the province of Alacant, were a significant part of his ongoing efforts to safeguard the Catalan language and the culture and history of the region. The Rondalles Valencianes have been compared to Italo Calvino’s Italian Folk Tales and Henri Pourrat’s Treasury of French Folk Tales. Like them, Valor aimed in rewriting the oral material to establish a common national body of folk narratives and to make the stories more appealing to Valencian readers, young and old alike. The critical introduction provides a classification of the tales in terms of themes and motifs and also explores relevant historical and social aspects that characterize Valor’s folktale corpus.

Enric Valor (1911–2000) is one of the most important Valencian authors of the 20th century. This third selection of his highly popular rondalles (folktales) will complete the publication of his folktales in English translation. At a time when Catalan was under threat from the cultural bulldozer of the Franco regime, which condemned the use of anything but Castilian Spanish in public communication, Valor went to great lengths to disseminate knowledge of the language, through writing grammar and linguistic studies (as well as teaching it to fellow inmates when he was imprisoned by the regime for his cultural activities). These tales, collected over a number of years in small villages in the province of Alacant, were a significant part of his ongoing efforts to safeguard the Catalan language and the culture and history of the region. The Rondalles Valencianes have been compared to Italo Calvino’s Italian Folk Tales and Henri Pourrat’s Treasury of French Folk Tales. Like them, Valor aimed in rewriting the oral material to establish a common national body of folk narratives and to make the stories more appealing to Valencian readers, young and old alike. The critical introduction provides a classification of the tales in terms of themes and motifs and also explores relevant historical and social aspects that characterize Valor’s folktale corpus.