Ricardo Palma

Elisa Sampson Vera Tudela (King's College London)

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Ed. by Ben Bollig, University of Oxford
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 5.1.1: Hispanic Writing and Culture of South America.
Vol. editors: Kate Averis (University of Western Australia), Ben Bollig (University of Oxford), Ceire Broderick (University College Cork), Nuala Finnegan (University College Cork), Anna Forné (Gothenburg University), Nicole Kennedy (University of Newcastle), Cara Levey (University College Cork), Carolina Orloff (Independent Scholar - Europe), Lori Oxford (Western Carolina University), Ailsa Peate (University of Westminster)

Dates

Born 7 Feb 1833
Died 8 Oct 1919

Places

Born in Peru
Active in Peru

Activities

Primary

Librarian
Politician
Scholar

Resources

Palma's Works

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Ricardo Palma was born on February 7th 1833, the illegitimate mixed-race son of a humble family. He was to become a prolific author and household name in his lifetime. The bulk of Palma’s extensive oeuvre is found in the

Tradiciones Peruanas

[

Peruvian Traditions

] – a hybrid genre that he is credited with inventing. Despite the deliberately archaic appearance of the

tradiciones

(many of which are set in the colonial period), Palma has increasingly come to be appreciated as a foundational figure for modern Latin American narrative.

Palma was apparently brought up principally by his grandmother and other female relatives in a house in the historic centre of Lima, next to the old Inquisition prisons. He was educated at various schools in the capital and eventually enrolled in the

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2394 words

Citation: Sampson Vera Tudela, Elisa. "Ricardo Palma". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 14 May 2012 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=12909, accessed 03 April 2025.]