Blasco Ibáñez, Vicente, << BLAH skoh ee BAH nyehth, vee THEHN the >> (1867-1928), was a Spanish novelist. He was born on Jan. 29, 1867, in Valencia, and his best novels realistically portray rural life in the Valencian region. They also feature vivid descriptions of nature. These works include The Mayflower (1895), The Cabin (1898), In the Orange Groves (1900), and Reeds and Mud (1902).
Blasco Ibáñez’s best-known novels are Blood and Sand (1908), a melodramatic story based on bullfighting, and The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1916), a vigorous antiwar story. The latter book made him the most famous Spanish writer of his time outside of Spain. However, most critics consider them inferior to his novels about the Valencian region.
Blasco Ibáñez published two newspapers that attacked what he regarded as the injustices of the Spanish monarchy. He served six terms in the Spanish parliament and formed a political party that worked for social reform. Blasco Ibáñez was jailed about 30 times because of his political opinions, and he went into exile several times during his life. He died on Jan. 28, 1928.
