Lost book explores relationship between Castellet and Cela
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In Barcelona, literary critic Josep M. Castellet planned a comprehensive study of Camilo José Cela, the future Nobel laureate, but the book was never published as a standalone volume.
Castellet and Cela first connected through the literary journal Laye in 1952, with Castellet writing an essay on Cela’s novel La colmena that Cela considered the most insightful criticism of his work to date.
This sparked a decade-long exchange of letters and collaboration, including Castellet inviting Cela to speak at the University of Barcelona and Cela offering chapters of his work for review. Castellet continued developing his study, intending it to be a complete biography and critical analysis with a bibliography and anthology of Cela’s writing.
He sought input from colleagues and explored various publishing options, including Noguer and the planned editions of Cela’s Papeles de Son Armadans, but faced setbacks when Noguer declined to publish the project. Despite these obstacles, Castellet persisted, envisioning a definitive work that blended biographical detail with critical assessment.
Ultimately, his study, Iniciación a la obra narrativa de Camilo José Cela, appeared in the Revista Hispánica Moderna in 1962, becoming a significant analysis of Cela’s work even though it never materialized as the independent book Castellet originally intended.
