Ricardo Palma is remembered for writing that changed what came after it.
The record lists Ricardo Palma as Peruvian historian (1833-1919).
Ricardo Palma was born at Lima in 1833. His recorded nationality is Peru. He was educated at National University of San Marcos.
The nineteenth century was the age of the serialised novel and mass literacy; writers reached audiences of a size never seen before.
He worked as lexicographer, librarian and historian.
The writing is recorded in Spanish.
Reputation in letters is unusually volatile: writers are forgotten for a generation and then recovered by one.
That the work was written from Peru matters: language, censorship and the reach of a publishing industry decide which books travel and which stay local.
Ricardo Palma died in 1919, aged 86. The books remain, which is the only durable form a writing life takes.
