Jacinto Benavente y Martínez

Jacinto Benavente y Martínez (1866-1954), Spanish playwright, critic and Nobel laureate, born in Madrid, and educated at the University of Madrid. He attracted attention with a critical work, Cartas de mujeres (The Letters of Women, 1893), and a comedy, El nido ajeno (Other Birds' Nests, 1894). Social climbers, the wealthy, and feudal institutions are among the subjects he attacked in his plays. In 1922 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature; subsequently he toured Latin America and the United States with a company performing his works. In addition to plays for children, he wrote many comedies and tragedies, including The Bonds of Interest (1907; trans. 1917) and The Passion Flower (1913; trans. 1917).