Photography: Corin Tellado. Font: planet of books.
Corín Tellado was a famous Spanish writer of popular romantic novel (known as a pink novel), erotic and children's novel. His literary activity completely covered the Franco era (1946-2009), and wrote until the moment of his death. Although his work was mistreated for its questionable quality in the eyes of literary critics, Corín Tellado's career has been recognized in other ways. As through the public of him and the affection that many people had for him. And her work was appreciated with different distinctions: Favorite Daughter of El Franco (1995), Gold Medal for Merit at Work (1998), Medal of Asturias (1999).
But there is no doubt that Corín Tellado moved, amused and entertained several generations of Spaniards. Because his audience was eminently female at a time when women had few options for leisure and to spread out a bit. Here collecting all his books is an impossible task, because Tellado's enormous work consists of more than 5000 novels and stories.
It is also not a small thing that they were translated into 27 languages. nor that it has been considered the most widely read writer in Spanish after Miguel de Cervantes. But we are going to try to ensure that the name of Corín Tellado does not fall into oblivion, especially by the younger generations who surely know her little.
The work of Corin Tellado
What a way to make stories. It would be what we would think when we approached to see the work of Corín Tellado. We could assure that their stories are similar to each other: love stories with a couple of lovers who find a thousand impediments to their passion. Very similar to the Latin American telenovelas that we have been used to in recent decades during siesta time. And it is that among Corín Tellado's writing adventure there are also her fotonovelas.
However, she constantly defended her work claiming that their stories were always different from each other, which were love stories, of course, where lack of love was present in all of them. In addition, the female role was super important in his work because he always put it as the main protagonist and in a different way than his time. The woman, to the extent possible, was strong, brave and stubborn in her goal; she overcame the obstacles of her love, but also of life linked to her condition as a woman. Likewise, she set these stories in the present time, not in the past as she used to in the genre. Corín Tellado wrote about everyday situations (mostly in Spain) with which readers could feel identified.
In addition, although she was pigeonholed in the pink subgenre, the author categorically denied it, because she said she was talking about feelings that she captured in novels with a sensitive plot. He believed that the success of his books lay in the theme, love, an element that is always present in any story and that most readers expect to find on the pages of a book.
Books by Corin Tellado
Corín Tellado, as we say, wrote mostly novels. But also fotonovelas and stories. Her novels were primarily romantic, but she also wrote erotic novels under the pseudonym Ada Miller.. We can affirm that thanks to the Francoist censorship of the time he learned the art of suggestion. Insinuate more than show, the most difficult of this type of stories.
His work has been adapted for film and television and Planet Group, who owns the rights to his work, has ceded them so that in Telemundo can continue versioning their work in the audiovisual world in America. Via Planet Group you can not only read his books, but currently also listen, which can lighten the volume of novels that continue to be published by Corín Tellado. Also many of them are already in digital format. From the planet website you can also access their novels in pack. Below we will give you a selection of readings by Corín Tellado in case you do not know where to start.
hidden fight
576 pages of a story that begins with the death of the wealthy Teo Urrutia and the struggles of ambition of his heirs. A plot full of envy and past quarrels and a clandestine love. Published in 1993 and now republished, this story has the same title as another of his novels, but from the year 58. You can find its new paper edition published by Essence, the imprint of Planet that leads to other acclaimed within the genre, such as Megan Maxwell.
From the heart
Edition published in digital by B is for Books in 2015. From the heart there are four short novels (538 pages): The return, I hope to see you later, Sandra's case y decide the fate. This anthology continues the path of the author who always sought to give women a voice in her personal struggle to change her destiny in a society unfriendly to the female gender. It has been prefaced by the journalist Rosa Villacastín.
married by proxy
It can be obtained digitally or as an audiobook, one of the titles reissued by Planet in these formats. In this story published for the first time in 1958, economic interests intersect with true love. The protagonist must choose between saving her family from ruin or achieving happiness with the man she loves..
daring bet
It was his first novel, the one he published in 1946 and which can now be read in Kindle (162 pages). Somehow the stories of this author have something timeless. After 70 years of her appearance, daring bet it remains a ruthless game between several young people who bring out their worst intentions.
I didn't forget what happened
It is one of his latest novels (2004) and tells the story of Pía Villalba, a young teacher of great beauty.. Pia is desired by all the men around her. However, she keeps thinking about her first love, with whom she was wrong, causing the breakup of the relationship. Something that he regrets over the years.
Biographical notes on the author
We must start by saying that her real name was María del Socorro Tellado López. Corin Tellado is solo one of his nicknames, of course, the most popular. He was born in 1927 in El Franco, an Asturian municipality. However, after the Civil War, his father served in Cádiz as an officer of the Francoist troops. They would move there and María del Socorro (or Socorrin, as she was called) would spend the rest of her childhood. As a child she was a great reader.
She realized that she had the ability to string together situations and create stories herself, so in 1946 she published her first novel. after his family began to have financial problems. He worked in different publishing houses, among them the old Bruguera publishing house, and his work was also prolific in magazines. Back in Asturias, she got married and was the mother of two children. Despite that time, the 60s, she ended up separating from her husband.
He worked tirelessly on his work, writing every day of his life for six decades.. His writings were treated as extremely frequent assignments that he always fulfilled. He led a relentless workflow that was only interrupted by his death in 2009 at the age of 81.
Undoubtedly, Corín Tellado was totally in love with life, with love, a lucky writer with a lot of talent, which she distributed in all her works.
A life full of stories and stories full of lives.
Thanks for your comment Karel. Of course, Corín Tellado was an exceptional woman, who never got tired of working.