BIOGRAPHY RICARDO PALMA

Ricardo Palma was born into a family that was living in Lima after migrating from

the province. His mother was a mestizo with African roots. His parents separated

when he was still young. He was educated at a Jesuit school and attended the

University of San Carlos on an irregular basis. He suspended his studies to

perform voluntary service in the Peruvian navy for six years.

From a young age he dabbled in politics as a member of the liberal camp. In 1860

he participated in a failed plot against President Ramón Castilla which resulted in a

self-imposed exile to Chile from which he returned in October 1862. He made a trip

to Europe in 1864-1865 and when he returned to Lima in 1865 he became involved

again in political affairs and public service until 1876. He held the positions of

Consul of Peru in Pará, Brazil, Senator for the Loreto and official in the Ministry of

War and Navy.

The War of the Pacific (1879–1883) between Chile and Peru disrupted Palma's life

and resulted in the virtually complete destruction of his own library as well as that

housed in the National Library of Peru. After the war Palma was named director of

the National Library, a post he held until his retirement in 1912. Palma successfully

took on the task of rebuilding the National Library that was ransacked by the

occupation forces of the Chilean army in 1881 following the battle of Lima during

the War of the Pacific. Palma was able to bring the National Library back from the

ashes to its previous stature and allowed it to be recognized again as one of the

top libraries in South America. It was through his personal friendship with the then

Chilean president Domingo Santa Maria, that Palma was able to recover an

estimated 10,000 books from Chilean hands, as well as many others works which

were recovered through his own personal efforts.

He married Cristina Roman Olivier with whom he had several children. His son

Clemente Palma became a prominent writer of fantastic tales, usually horror

stories that were influenced by Edgar Allan Poe. His daughter Angelica Palma was

also a writer and a member of the early feminist movement in Peru. He died in

Lima on Oct. 6, 1919.

Literary Work

Traditions Peruvians(1860 - Eight Parts) I will mention some of them:

o El cristo de la agonia

o El nazareno

o La casa de pilatos

o Los malditos

o EL encapuchado

o Traslado a judas

o Franciscanos y Jesuitas

o EL niño lloron,etc

Armonia(1877)

Cartas Ineditas (1964)