A Female Fraudster in Restoration Spain: Galdós’s Cánovas and the Curious Case of Doña Baldomera Larra’s Ponzi Scheme

Abstract

This article analyses Galdós’s account in Cánovas of the historical financial fraud perpetrated in the 1870s by Baldomera Larra, youngest daughter of the writer Mariano José de Larra. It studies the contemporary press coverage of the rise and fall of Doña Baldomera’s Ponzi scheme in order to reach a better understanding of the role which Galdós assigns to this historical fraud. In Cánovas, the scheme becomes an emblem of the speculative economy of Restoration Spain. The article shows that, despite his progressive detachment from political history, Galdós remains a sharp critic of the society of his time in this final episodio.