Bailen

Bailén is the fourth novel in the first series of the National Episodes of Benito Pérez Galdós. Here continues the story of the young Cadiz Gabriel, protagonist of three previous episodes, March 19 and May 2, The Court of Charles IV and Trafalgar.
Gabriel, leaves Madrid after May 2, 1808 in the direction of Andalusia, specifically Córdoba, where they have taken his beloved Inés. There he discovers that Agnes, forced into a marriage of convenience, wants to profess in a cloistered convent.
On the way it stops in Bailén. He stays in the house of a noble family and discovers that they prepare their only son to join the army of Castaños in the fight against the French.
As a result, Gabriel will participate in the Battle of Bailén, on July 19, 1808, where the Spanish and French armies clash.
Bailén recounts with great accuracy the development of the battle, which concludes with a victory for the Spaniards. Issues as important as the mayorazgos, so deeply rooted in Spain at that time, are also addressed. There is talk of the importance and influence of the clergy in the vulgar, of the difference of classes and of the growth of republicanism in Spain.
Bailén is not just a historical or war novel. Here there is also a love story between Gabriel de Araceli and Inés and about the friendship between Marijuán and Gabriel.