Quiroga, Elena (1919–1995)

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Quiroga, Elena (1919–1995)

Spanish novelist. Born Elena Quiroga de Abarca in Santander, Spain, Oct 26, 1919; died Oct 3, 1995 in La Coruña, Spain; dau. of Count San Martin de Quiroga (minor noble) and Isabel Abarca Fornés; m. Dalmiro de la Valgoma y Díaz-Varela (genealogist and historian, later secretary of Royal Academy of History), in 1950.

Published La soledad sonora (Sonorous Solitude 1949), followed by breakthrough novel Viento del norte (North Wind, 1950), which won the Nadal Prize; moved from northern Spain to Madrid (1950); over next decade, produced 6 more novels; eschewing the social realism then in vogue in Spain, explored the psyches of her characters and experimented with narrative techniques; renown in Spain grew when her novel Escribo tu nombre (I Write Your Name) was nominated for the international Rómulo Gallegos Prize (1967).

See also Phyllis Zatlin Boring, Elena Quiroga (Twayne, 1977); and Women in World History.

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