Ballesteros de Gaibrois, Mercedes

b. 1913, Madrid

   Writer

   Ballesteros de Gaibrois began writing journalistic articles in the 1940s. Her later collections of humorous sketches include Este mundo (This World) (1955), Así es la vida (That's Life) (1953) and El personal (Personnel) (1975). Although conservative and not particularly feminist, she writes of women, children and adolescents. Long novels include La cometa y el eco (The Kite and the Echo) (1956), Eclipse de tierra (Nothing is Impossible) (1954), El perro del extraño rabo (The Dog with the Strange Tail) (1953), La sed (Thirst) (1965), El chico (Boy) (1967), and Taller (Workshop) (1960), portraying seamstresses.

   Further reading

   - O'Connor, P.W. (1985) " Mercedes Ballesteros's Unsung Poetic Comedy: Las mariposas cantan", Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos 7, 1:57–63 (a study of her comic drama by the leading expert on Spanish women's theatre).

   - Pérez, J. (1988) Contemporary Women Writers of Spain, Boston, MA: G.K.Hall, pp. 68–73 (overview of Ballesteros" novels and stories).

   JANET PÉREZ