The Four Horsemen of the Apocolypse

Description

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1916) is a novel by Vicente Blasco Ibanez. Published at the height of his career as a popular Spanish author, The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse was adapted into a 1921 silent film starring Rudolph Valentino and later into a 1962 feature directed by Vincente Minelli. In 1919, the novel became a bestseller in the United States. "'And when the sun arises in a few hours, the world will see coursing through its fields the four horsemen, enemies of mankind. . . . Already their wild steeds are pawing the ground with impatience; already the ill-omened riders have come together and are exchanging the last words before leaping into the saddle.'" At the outbreak of the First World War, two families-and countless more-are torn apart by hatred and conflict that threatens to bring an end to humanity itself. Julio Desnoyers, a young man of mixed Argentine and French descent, leaves a life of luxury behind in search of glory and romance. Convinced that only sacrifice will win him the hand of his lover Marguerite, he enlists as a soldier in the French army. Meanwhile, his mother is forced to reckon with the marriage of her sister to a German man. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse showcases Blasco Ibanez's sense of tragedy and devotion to the politics of peace, both of which guide his depiction of humanity at war with itself. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Vicente Blasco Ibanez's The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse is a classic of Spanish literature reimagined for modern readers.

Vicente Blasco Ibanez (1867-1928) was a Spanish novelist, journalist, and political activist. Born in Valencia, he studied law at university, graduating in 1888. As a young man, he founded the newspaper El Pueblo and gained a reputation as a militant Republican. After a series of court cases over his controversial publication, he was arrested in 1896 and spent several months in prison. A staunch opponent of the Spanish monarchy, he worked as a proofreader for Filipino nationalist Jose Rizal's groundbreaking novel Noli Me Tangere (1887). Blasco Ibanez's first novel, The Black Spider (1892), was a pointed critique of the Jesuit order and its influence on Spanish life, but his first major work, Airs and Graces (1894), came two years later. For the next decade, his novels showed the influence of Emile Zola and other leading naturalist writers, whose attention to environment and social conditions produced work that explored the struggles of working-class individuals. His late career, characterized by romance and adventure, proved more successful by far. Blood and Sand (1908), The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1916), and Mare Nostrum (1918) were all adapted into successful feature length films by such directors as Fred Niblo and Rex Ingram.