Electra

Benito Pérez Galdós, the author of the following drama, was born May 10, 1845, at Las Palmas, in the Canary Islands. Through modesty, or reserve, he has withheld every biographical detail concerning his early life. In fact his biographer, Leopoldo Alas, tells us that it was only with the greatest difficulty he obtained from him the admission that he was born in the Canary Islands. He studied there in the State College, and came to Madrid in 1863, for the purpose of reading law. This profession held but little interest for him, and he did not follow it further. He was already dreaming of a literary career, and after a brief trial of journalism, his first novel, La Fontana de Oro (1871), was published.