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Valera, Don Juan 1824-1905
Spanish novelist and critic

Born in Cabra, Córdoba, he held diplomatic posts in Europe and the USA, and was a deputy, Minister of Commerce, Minister of Public Instruction and a councillor of state senator. His literary studies Estudios criticos (1864), and his essays Cuentos y Diálogos (1882) made his reputation but his fame rests on his romances, such as Pepita Jiménez (1874, Eng trans 1891), Las ilusiones del Doctor Faustino (1876, 'The Illusions of Dr Faustus'), El comendador Mendoza (1877, Eng trans Commander Mendoza, 1893) and La buena fama (1895, 'The Good Reputation'). He was also a noted translator of Goethe's Faust and other classics.

Bibliography: A Z Romera, Don Valera y Alcala Galiano (1966)