Twice-Told Tales: Anglo-Spanish Intertextuality in José Joaquín de Mora\'s \" El abogado de Cuenca \" (1826)

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to examine " El abogado de Cuenca " , a short story written by José Joaquín de Mora (1783-1864) and included in his literary annual No me olvides in 1826. This narrative was produced in an Anglo-Spanish context as it was written when he was exiled in England and was published by the London-based publisher Rudolph Ackermann, who distributed it in the recently-established Spanish American republics. This transnational context is reflected in " El abogado de Cuenca " through its combination of intertextual references to British contemporary popular fiction and the Spanish literary tradition. Mora's text is inspired by " Barbito, or the Spectre of Cuenza " , an anonymous short story that had appeared in some of Ackermann's publications too, which is thoroughly rewritten by including elements from the legends of Don Juan and Lisardo. These texts are appropriated by Mora, who tries to make them conform to his own ideas on religion, philosophy, literature, and politics.