Dr Kirsty Hooper. University of Liverpool

SPAIN’S WOMEN INTELLECTUALS, 1890-1920

Dr Kirsty Hooper, University of Liverpool

Salomé Núñez [y] Topete (fl. 1877-1929, Madrid?)

Salomé Núñez (y) Topete is something of an enigma. She is mentioned by peers such as Sofía Casanova and seems to have been well known as a writer, but few of her works appear to have survived – at least, not in the catalogues of the major libraries. She was from a wealthy, transatlantic seafaring family (Spaniards based in Mexico and Cuba), the daughter of Carmen Topete y Carballo (d. 1873) and Francisco Núñez, niece of the Admiral, war hero and politician Juan Bautista Topete y Carballo, and grand daughter of the former head of the Spanish navy, Juan Bautista Topete y Viaña. She was named for her mother’s sister, Salomé Topete. Her family background was both an advantage and a drawback, especially in the aftermath of her uncle’s involvement in the Spanish Revolution of 1868: an anecdote that appeared in 1885 in La España Moderna [see below for reference] tells how Melita (as she was known) was presented at the salón of the Condesa de Montijo by her intimate friend Sofía Bisso, and had to be delicately rescued by the Condesa from a group of men bent on attacking her famous uncle.

In April 1878, Patrocinio de Biedma, editor of the journal Cádiz, announced that Núñez Topete, along with Sofía Tartilán, would henceforth be a contributor to Cádiz; however, although Tartilán would contribute several articles over the next few months, I have only found one contribution from Núñez Topete, who seems to have switched her affiliation to the Madrid journal La Academia.

Núñez Topete published a book of short stories in 1882, and continued to publish in the press, although we have yet to recover many of her writings. María de la Rigada refers in 1902 to her columns in the Madrid newspaper El Liberal (see below for reference). She was fashion correspondent for a number of Madrid periodicals from 1914-23, and is one of 18 women named as one of the 93 “colaboradores literarios” of the fortnightly Madrid journal Voluntad in 1919-20. In April 1925, El Imparcial records her as attending a meeting at the Ritz in honour of the Peruvian writer Angélica Palma, and in December 1929, the same journal records her as attending a meeting in honour of the new editor of Revista Diplomática, the Conde de Bailén (Núñez y Topete is the only woman whose presence is recorded).

According to Manuel Ossorio y Bernard, in his study of 19^th-century Spanish women writers (1890, see below for reference), Núñez Topete was a regular contributor to newspapers, including La Revista Contemporánea, El Gobierno, and El Correo, and the author of at least three novels. Ossorio y Bernard also states that Núñez Topete published her earliest works under the pseudonym Melita or, sometimes, M***. Candida López Venegas, in her 1904 article on women writers and pseudonyms (see below for reference) states that Núñez Topete also used the pseudonym María Ercenete.

Núñez Topete’s translation of Le tueur de lions (1856), the French explorer Jules Gérard’s (1817-64) book about his exploits as a lion-killer in Algeria between1842-1853, was one of at least three circulating in Spain. It appears to have been very popular. First published (as far as I can tell) in 1921, it was reprinted regularly throughout the 20^th century, the most recent edition appearing as recently as 1998 (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe). During the last decade of the 19^th century, she also translated several novels by the French novelist M Maryan (Marie Rosalie Virginie Cadiou, 1847-1927) for the Cádiz-based women’s magazine La Moda Elegante.

Bibliography [ IN PROGRESS]

PRIMARY

Narrative

· “El espejo.” Revista Contemporánea XXXIV (May 1877).

· “¡Un imposible! Novela original” [serialization]. Dedication: “Al Excmo Sr D Francisco de P Jiménez, en testimonio de amistad sincero. Madrid, Setiembre de 1877.”

1. I. La Academia (Madrid), 23/05/1878: 299, 302.

2. II-III. La Academia (Madrid), 30/05/1878: 315, 318.

3. III-IV. La Academia (Madrid), 23/06/1878: 362-363.

4. IV-V. La Academia (Madrid), 30/06/1878: 379, 382.

5. VI. La Academia (Madrid), 15/07/1878: 27, 30.

6. VI-VII. La Academia (Madrid), 22/07/1878: 39, 42.

7. VII-VIII. La Academia (Madrid), 7/08/1878: 71? (page missing), 75.

8. IX-X. La Academia (Madrid), 23/08/1878: 103, 106-107.

9. XI-XII. La Academia (Madrid), 7/09/1878: 139, 142.

10. XII-XIII. La Academia (Madrid), 7/10/1878: 202-203.

11. XIII-XIV. La Academia (Madrid), 7/11/1878: 267, 270.

12. XIV-XV. La Academia (Madrid), 23/11/1878: 298-299.

13. XV-XVI. La Academia (Madrid), 15/12/1878: 346-347.

14. XVI. La Academia (Madrid), 30/12/1878: 379, 382.

15. XVI. La Academia (Madrid), 30/12/1878: 379, 382.

16. XVII. La Academia (Madrid), 15/02/1879: 90-91.

17. XVIII-XIX. La Academia (Madrid), 28/02/1879: 123, 125-126.

· “Un héroe.” La Moda Elegante (Cádiz), 6/11/1880: 335.

· Cuentos. Madrid: F Fernández, 1882. BNE

· La sortija (bef. 1890)

· Honrar padre y madre (bef. 1890)

· María [serialization; not all parts yet recovered]:

1. III-IV. La Moda Elegante (Cádiz), 30/09/1891: 425-428.

2. VIII-IX. La Moda Elegante (Cádiz), 30/10/1891: 472-473.

3. XV. La Moda Elegante (Cádiz), 30/11/1891: 524

In periodicals

[Links are to full text provided by the Hemeroteca Digital of the Biblioteca Nacional de España; BVP means full text can be found in the Biblioteca Virtual de Prensa Histórica]

· “Revista de Madrid [A Sra. Da. Patrocinio de Biedma].” Cádiz (Cádiz), 10/4/1878: 271.

· “Noticias de Madrid.” La Academia (Madrid), 7/05/1878: 259, 262. BVP

· “Revista de Madrid.” La Academia (Madrid), 7/06/1878: 323, 326. BVP

· “Revista de Madrid.” La Academia (Madrid), 15/06/1878: 339, 342. BVP

· “Sociedad y modas.” La Academia (Madrid) [firmado en Biarritz, 16 Aug], 30/08/1878: 118-119, 122. BVP

· “Los celos.” Los dos mundos 31 (1883).

· “Los serios.” La Moda Elegante (Cádiz), 30/09/1890: 428.

· “Primores.” El Imparcial / La Vida en el Hogar (Madrid), 17/01/1907: 1.

· “Recuerdos.” El Imparcial / La Vida en el Hogar (Madrid), 28/02/1907: 1.

· “La caridad. Hermoso amor. “El Imparcial / La Vida en el Hogar (Madrid), 8/10/1908: 1.

· “La caridad. Un letrero.” El Imparcial / La Vida en el Hogar (Madrid), 13/05/1909: 1.

· “Charla femenina. La moda en las joyas y en los sombreros.” La Esfera (Madrid), 10/1/1914: 32. BVP

· “La moda femenina.” La Esfera (Madrid), 21/02/1914: 20. BVP

· “Elegancias y coqueterías.” Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 13/8/1915: 26.

· “Ayer.” Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 1/10/1915: 8.

· “Tonos... y tono.” Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 25/02/1916: 28.

· “La literatura y la moda.” Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 22/9/1916: 14.

· “Modas.” Por esos mundos (Madrid), 1/10/1916: 102-104.

· “Páginas femeninas. La mejor de las voluntades.” Por esos mundos (Madrid), 1/12/1916: 637-638.

· “¡Maldito sea!” Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 12/1/1917: 9.

· “Aire encantador.” Alrededor del Mundo (Madrid), 23/04/1917: 330-332.

· “El pasado.” Alrededor del Mundo (Madrid), 4/06/1917: 450-452.

· “Hace dos siglos”. Alrededor del Mundo (Madrid), 27/08/1917: 170-172.

· “La moda de primavera. Entre novios.” Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 21/2/1919: 23.

· “Ni más ni menos.” Voluntad (Madrid), 15/11/1919: 25-26.

· “Comentarios acerca del velo”. Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 7/4/1922: 24.

· “Modas de París.” Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 21/4/1922: 16-17.

· “Modas de París.” Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 5/5/1922: 13.

· “¿La falda corta o larga? [response to a survey]”. Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 12/5/1922: 35.

· “Los modos de vestir.” Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 2/6/1922: 13.

· “Modas de París y de Nueva York” [as Salomé Núñez y Totete]. Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 30/6/1922: 13.

· “La moda femenina. Notas y más notas”. Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 4/8/1922: 21.

· “Féminas. Hay que ser útiles”. Nuevo Mundo (Madrid), 16/2/1923: 13.

Translations

· Un nombre. Novela original de M Maryan. Traducida del francés al castellano por SNT [serialization].

1. I-II. La Moda Elegante (Cádiz), 6/07/1896: 292-296.

· Primavera. Novela original de M. Maryan [serialization]

1. X-XI. La Moda Elegante (Cádiz), 6/07/1897: 296-299.

· Lady Frida. Novela original de M Maryan [serialization; not all parts yet recovered].

1. I. La Moda Elegante (Cádiz), 14/05/1898: 209-213.

2. VIII-IX. La Moda Elegante (Cádiz), 22/06/1898: 272-273.

3. V-VII. La Moda Elegante (Cádiz), 30/08/1898: 377-381.

· Julio Gérard, El matador de leones [translated from the French by Salomé Núñez y Topete]. Madrid: Calpe, 1921. CSIC

SECONDARY

· “Necrología: Doña Carmen Topete y Carballo, viuda de Núñez.” La Iberia (Madrid), 14/04/1875: 4.

· Anon. [Mention of SNT and some publications] “Gacetilla.” La Iberia (Madrid), 20/06/1878: 3.

· Anon. “Los salones de la Condesa del Montijo”. La España Moderna (Madrid), 1/05/1896: 8.

· Anon. [Brief mention of SNT in] “Manos blancas.” El Duende (Madrid), 16/11/1913: 14.

· Casanova, Sofía. [Brief mention of SNT in] La mujer española en el extranjero. Madrid: R. Velasco, 1910: 36.

· López Venegas, Cándida. “Los seudónimos de señoras.” La Alhambra (30/11/1904): 416-417.

· Ossorio y Bernard, M. “Apuntes para un diccionario de escritoras españolas del siglo XIX [continuación]. La España Moderna (1/02/1890): 205.

· Rigada y Ramón, María de la. “La Caligrafía considerada en sus tres aspectos de Arte bello, Arte útil, y Arte bello-útil.” La Escuela Moderna (1/07/1902): 1-12.

Last updated by Kirsty Hooper on Wednesday, 01 September 2010