Real Sitio / The Real Sitio
Novel , 1993
Penguin Random House
The Real Sitio takes place at two key moments in the history of the Real Sitio and the town of Aranjuez. On the one hand, it narrates the story of Marta, the new librarian in the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, circa1930s. Marta has access to old documents and books which will transport her to the Aranjuez of 1807. In the second timeline, the other story takes place at the court of Carlos IV, where Manuel Godoy, the Prince of Peace, participates in secret deals with Napoleon concerning the French invasion of Portugal, and on the other, the followers of Fernando, the Prince of Asturias, will attempt to put an end to Godoy and the monarch himself. Whilst the characters in the first story find themselves at the dawn of the Second Spanish Republic (1931), the characters in the second are heading towards the famous Riot of Aranjuez (1808).