 Today he is considered by many critics as the best Spanish prose writer of the 19th century, while recognizing the creative superiority of Galdós.José María de Pereda was born in Polanco (province of Santander, present-day Cantabria) in 1833.He belonged to a Hidalgo family, he traveled widely abroad, and he was a Carlist deputy, although later he dedicated himself to the cultivation of his lands and to literature.