Azorín, born on June 8, 1873, in Monóvar, Alicante, was José Augusto Trinidad Martínez Ruiz, a writer who used the pen name Azorín. He emerged as a major voice in early 20th‑century Spanish literature, championing a revival of both contemporary and classical Spanish writing. He defined the 98 Generation and became its most prominent figure. Coming from a prosperous family, he was the eldest of nine siblings and completed his early studies at the Escolapios de Yecla for eight years. From 1888 to 1896 he studied law in Valencia, where his interest in anarchist movements grew and he began his journalistic and critical work. During this period he produced a handful of political articles and translations from French. His education then took him to Salamanca, Granada, and Madrid, where he moved in literary circles and pursued journalism. It was in Madrid that he published his first novels and, after using several pen names such as Fray José, Juan de Lis, Cándido, Ahrimán, Charivari, and Este, he adopted Azorín as his permanent literary signature in 1904. The writing favored by his work tended to celebrate ancestral peasant traditions and the continuity they represented. A second major theme soon appeared: the life of Spain itself, with its landscapes, cities, and contemporary characters. Azorín is the central figure in the films “La voluntad” (1902) and “Antonio Azorín” (1903). Confessions of a Little Philosopher recalls the world of his childhood, while Los pueblos expresses both the pain and tenderness of the Spanish land.
By 1905, Azorín’s thought and prose aligned with traditionalist perspectives. He began to contribute to ABC and played an active role in public life. Between 1907 and 1919 he served as a deputy five times and held the post of Undersecretary of Education in 1917 and again in 1919. He grew within the Restoration era’s political scene, though he often criticized its corruption. His career in Madrid’s press expanded as he joined La Vanguardia as a literary critic, where he became a leading voice in Castilian culture, publishing nearly two hundred articles from 1914 to 1917. Scientists note that Barcelona’s centrality to the 98th Generation helps explain this prominence in a city that was its hub.
The leadership of Primo de Rivera from 1923 to 1930 slowed Azorín’s public engagements; he did not accept the dictator’s political accusations and remained steadfast in his stance.
In 1924 he was elected a member of the Spanish Royal Academy and spent years touring the country. Over two decades he produced some of the most cherished books in Spanish literature, including works such as The Route of Don Quixote, Spain, Spanish Readings, Castilla, Classics and Moderns, Literary Values, Also the Classics, El licenciado Vidriera, Rivas y Larra, A Small Town: Riofrío de Ávila, The Spanish Landscape as Seen by the Spaniards, Fantasy and Playfulness, Two Luíses and Other Essays, Don Juan, Castelar from Granada, An Hour from Spain, and Doña Inés. His distinctive style is marked by concise sentences, simple syntax, a steady vocabulary, and a cadence built from two or three adjectives joined by commas.
Azorín also nurtured a strong love for theater, though his plays did not always win broad audience appeal. From his pen came The Old Spain (1926), Brandy, a Lot of Brandy (1927), Comedia del Arte (1927), and the Invisible trilogy, which is linked to Expressionist aesthetics. The episodes Doctor Death, 3 to 5, and others are widely regarded by critics as among his best dramatic works.
When the Civil War began, he fled Madrid to the Republican side and took refuge in France with his wife. He returned to Spain after the conflict and received the Grand Cross of the Order of Alfonso X el Sabio in 1946. In 1966, while reflecting on his Paris stay during the Civil War, he published an article titled Paris and his impressions of the French capital.
Azorín remained a passionate moviegoer in later years. The Círculo de Escritores Cinematográficos awarded him a Medal for Best Literary Work in 1950 for his editorial contributions to cinema. On July 5, 1963, Alicante honored him as a native son. He died on March 2, 1967, at his Madrid home on Zorrilla Street and was buried in San Isidro Cemetery. In 1990 his remains, along with those of his wife, were moved to Monóvar to rest in the family cemetery.