"Rum, Rome, and Rebellion: The Reform of Reform in the Political Fiction of the Gilded Age" examines a collection of American political novelists who were active during the mid- to late-nineteenth century. These writers were not only active in politics, they also used their experience in politics to compose realist fiction that typically contained a great deal of humor and satire. Despite their different backgrounds, each of these writers challenged the literary and political conventions of Romanticism, championing ironic detachment and cosmopolitanism. Although fiction about quotidian political life rarely achieves canonical status, such literature has always enjoyed a large readership, both in the nineteenth-century and in our own time. This dissertation attempts to untangle why we find (or don’t find) literature about quotidian political life entertaining and/or instructive, while also providing insight into this transitional period in American history. Each chapter concentrates on the fifty-year period between 1848 and 1898 from a different location, forming what are essentially four cross-sectional samples. This serves two interconnected purposes. One, it reorients the periodization of American literature and history away from 1865 by highlighting cultural continuities between the periods before and after the Civil War And two, it serves to highlight the integration of American literature, culture, and politics, with the broader, nineteenth-century Atlantic world, where the year 1865 carries less cultural significance. The first chapter begins in the nation's capital and examines the anti-populist liberalism of Henry Adams and John Hay. From Washington, we move north to New England where we encounter Henry James’s Bostonians. With the exception of Lionel Trilling, few major critics have championed James’s "middle period," which provides quasi-ethnographic sketches of political movements on both sides of the Atlantic. I reveal James’s long-standing fascination and engagement with the political analyses of Alexis de Tocqueville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and his friend, Henry Adams. I show how the novel anticipates George Santayana’s notion of "the genteel tradition" which dominated northern American culture during this period. After examining two canonical figures, I turn my attention in a more southerly direction, to two lesser known authors. The first is Maria Ruiz de Burton, a Mexican writer from the Southwestern Borderlands who immigrated to the U.S. after the Mexican-American War. Ruiz de Burton has primarily been read as a proto-Chicana/o author, but I view her as a cosmopolitan whose observations about American culture and politics resemble those of James and Santayana. My last chapter is set in Louisiana, where we encounter and recover an eccentric, Spanish-Creole politician and author named Charles Gayarré and his 1856 novel The School for Politics, a satire of local machine politics. Largely forgotten today, Gayarré was connected to intellectual circles in both Europe and Latin America, and was acquainted with American writers like Herman Melville and Henry Adams. I relate The School for Politics with his later political novels in which anti-imperialism and a pluralistic plea for the tolerance of ethnic minorities also implicitly serve as an apology for racial segregation in the Jim Crow South.

Countess Urraca Lope de Haro was the daughter of the noble Lord Diego Lope de Haro, friend and advisor to King Alfonso VIII of Castilla-León and granddaughter of Lord Lope Díaz de Haro and Lady Aldonza Ruiz de Castro, aristocratic courtiers as well as popular monastic patrons. As a young and wealthy widow, Countess Urraca took monastic vows at the Cistercian nunnery of Santa María de Cañas founded by her grandparents. Within a short time of uniting herself to this monastery, she was chosen as its fourth abbess in 1225, a position she held for thirty-seven years until her death in 1262. Following the tradition of monastic patronage established by her noble family members, Countess Urraca expanded the monastery's small real estate holdings, oversaw extensive building projects to create permanent structures for the nunnery, and patronized artistic projects including statuettes of the Virgin Mary and St. Peter in addition to her own decorative stone sarcophagus during her term as abbess. This thesis examines the artistic decoration and architectural patronage of this powerful woman and the influences she incorporated into the monastic structures at Cañas as she oversaw their construction. In dating the original buildings of the monastery at Cañas to the period of Countess Urraca's leadership, the predominant architectural features and decorative details of female Cistercian foundations in northern Spain are discussed. Comparisons with additional thirteenth-century Cistercian monasteries from the same region in northern Spain are offered to demonstrate the artistic connections with the structures Countess Urraca patronized. In addition, this thesis examines Countess Urraca's obvious devotion to the Virgin Mary and St. Peter by considering the medieval monastic world in which she lived and the strong emphasis the Cistercian Order placed on such worship practices. The potent spiritual connections Countess Urraca made by commissioning images of essential, holy intercessors testifies to her devotion to them and the powerful salvatory role she herself played in the lives of the nuns for whom she was responsible. As a nun and abbess, Countess Urraca was urged to emulate Mary's mothering, nurturing qualities, and, as she did so was simultaneously empowered by the Virgin's heavenly authority as administrator of mercy. Indeed, through studying her art it is clear that she saw herself as an intercessor on behalf of the nuns for whom she was responsible. Furthermore, discussion of the imagery displayed on Countess Urraca's decorative stone sarcophagus demonstrates not only a similar message of salvation through intercessors such as Peter and Mary, but also testifies of Abbess Urraca's aristocratic lineage. Through this artistic commission, the Abbess creates another direct, personal link between herself and the Virgin by including the symbol of the rosary throughout the iconography of her tomb. Such a symbol represents her devotion to Mary as Queen of Heaven and simultaneously empowers Countess Urraca as an intercessor herself. All of these architectural and artistic commissions confirm that she was a powerful woman who wielded a great deal of influence.

[EN] This doctoral thesis, that seeks to recover the figure and work of the Spanish composer José María Ruiz de Azagra Sanz (1900-1971), connects with the current lines of research about composers that developed their creative works mainly during the Spanish postwar period. Despite being one of the most prolific and popular composers of his time, in the lyric theatre (paso dobles, couplets, revue¿) genre as well as in the Spanish cinema from the 40s and 50s, Ruiz de Azagra has been ostracised and the references to his work or to his person are rarely existing, although some academic studies and specialized publications stand out, as those by Casares Rodicio, Llisterri or Roldán Garrote, that speak about some aspects of his life and work in the lyrical theatre and film music. The main aims of this work are the presentation and the setting-up of a thorough and updated biography of the composer, as well as his work cataloguing. After a broaden field work that involved the consultation of a wide range of sources, foundations and documentation centres, a biography and a catalogue of the author are presented along with a general analysis of the musical soundtrack for the film La torre de los siete jorobados as well as scores of some compositions for lyric theatre from the 50s, in order to stablish the author's own compositional features in both genres. Finally, it is also included the recovered piano and voice score of the song Manola lá through the playback of the audiovisual recording from the aforementioned film. / [ES] La presente tesis doctoral, que pretende recuperar la figura y obra del compositor español José María Ruiz de Azagra Sanz (1900-1971), entronca con la línea de investigación actual sobre compositores que desarrollaron su trabajo creativo principalmente durante la postguerra española. A pesar de tratarse de uno de los compositores más prolíficos y populares en su época tanto en el género del teatro lírico (pasodobles, cuplés, revista¿) como en el cine español de los 40 y 50, Ruiz de Azagra ha sido relegado al ostracismo y apenas existen referencias a su obra y su persona, si bien destacan algunos estudios académicos y publicaciones especializadas realizados por Casares Rodicio, Llisterri, o Roldán Garrote que hablan de algún aspecto de su vida y obra dentro del teatro lírico y la música cinematográfica. Los principales objetivos de este trabajo son la presentación y establecimiento de una biografía exhaustiva y actualizada del compositor así como la catalogación su obra. Tras un minucioso trabajo de campo que supuso la consulta en un amplio espectro de fuentes, fundaciones y centros documentales, se presenta junto con la biografía y el catálogo del autor, un análisis general de la banda sonora musical para la película La torre de los siete jorobados así como de algunas composiciones para teatro lírico de los años 50 con el fin de establecer unas características propias de composición del autor en ambos géneros. Por último, también se aporta la partitura recuperada para piano y voz de la canción Manola lá mediante la escucha del registro audiovisual perteneciente a la película anteriormente citada. / [CA] La present tesi doctoral, que pretén recuperar la figura i l'obra del compositor espanyol José María Ruiz de Azagra Sanz (1900-1971), entronca amb la línia d'investigació actual sobre compositors que desenvoluparen el seu treball creatiu principalment durant la postguerra espanyola. Malgrat tractar-se d'un dels compositors més prolífics i populars en la seua època, tant en el gènere del teatre líric (pasdobles, cuplets, revista¿) com en el cinema espanyol dels anys 40 i 50, Ruiz de Azagra ha sigut relegat a l'ostracisme i quasi no existeixen referències a la seua obra i persona, si bé destaquen alguns estudis acadèmics i publicacions especialitzades realitzades per Casares Rodicio, Llisteri o Roldán Garrote que assenyalen algun aspecte de la seua vida i obra dins del teatre líric i de la música cinematogràfica. Els principals objectius d'aquest treball són la presentació i establiment d'una biografia exhaustiva i actualitzada del compositor així com la catalogació de la seua obra. Rere un minuciós treball de camp que va suposar la consulta en un ampli espectre de fonts, fundacions i centres documentals, es presenta junt amb la biografia i el catàleg de l'autor, una anàlisi general de la banda sonora musical per a la pel·lícula La torre de los siete jorobados, així com de algunes composicions per a teatre líric dels anys 50 amb la fi d'establir unes característiques pròpies de composició de l'autor en ambdós gèneres. Per últim, també s'aporta la partitura recuperada per a piano i veu de la cançó Manola lá mitjançant l'audició del registre audiovisual pertanyent a la pel·lícula anteriorment citada. / Traver Navarro, P. (2015). EL COMPOSITOR ESPAÑOL JOSÉ MARÍA RUIZ DE AZAGRA SANZ (1900-1971): BIOGRAFÍA Y OBRA [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/57709

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