Born in 1947, Soledad Puértolas has been a leading force in Spain's cultural renaissance of the last two decades. Her literary awards include the Premio Sésamo, awarded to promising young authors in Spain, and the coveted Premio Planeta. All of her novels have appeared in French, and several have been published in German, Italian, and Portuguese translations. Francisca González-Arias is an assistant professor of Spanish at Merrimack College. She is the author of Portrait of a Woman As Artist: Emilia Pardo Bazán and the Modern Novel in Spain and France.