The Spanish Protestant Minority: Readership of English Novels from The 19th Century

Abstract

For 300 years, the Spanish Inquisition’s common practice of autoda-fés resulted in a unanimous silence in matters of other religious beliefs. It was only in the 19th century, as a more liberal ideology took centre stage, that new voices championed the rights of different faiths, rights that would not materialise until the Glorious Revolution in 1868. Spanish Protestants, focused on theological controversy and church building as they were, invested little time creating literary material. They did, however, translate English works which were then provided to Protestant families as a means of relaxation and religious veneration. This article analyses in great detail five novels which have traditionally been passed for generations amongst Protestant Spanish till very recently.