Reyes Calderón's Lola MacHor Series

In spite of the fact that detective fiction has been the most popular genre utilized by Spanish authors over the last 30 or so years, the female detective has appeared in such works on relatively rare occasions. Less frequent are Spanish female authors of detective fiction who employ a female detective as their main character. One author who has broken this stereotype is Reyes Calderón, with her female juez de instrucción (examining magistrate), originally created because the author was convinced that the one popular, female, main character detective that did exist was simply "a man who was wearing a skirt." With the creation of her Basque character who, over the series, evolves from law school professor to member of the Spanish Supreme Court, Calderón aptly portrays both how far Spanish women have come since the restrictions of the Franco dictatorship, yet how remnants of conservative thought still pervade their mindset. She thus uses the most popular of genres to make a myriad of cultural observations concerning her native country and the women of her generation. This book focuses on the female detective in Hispanic literature and the Lola MacHor series, in which Calderón conducts a cultural studies experiment of modern-day Spain via the main character Lola. It illuminates concomitant issues of characterization and Calderón's debt to naturalism and exposes Spanish novel writing and narrative style. The book also investigates the pervading conservative/feminist dichotomy as it transpires in Spanish social commentary and moralizing.