The Ingenious and Diverting Letters of the Lady ---- Travels into Spain: Describing the Devotions, Nunneries, Humours, Customs, Laws, Militia, Trade, Diet and Recreations of That People

In Short

This late seventeenth-century travel epistolary records a high-born Frenchwoman’s journey from the Basque border toward the royal court at Madrid. Writing in a series of vivid, highly detailed letters, the author captures the vast landscape, political intrigue, local customs, and dramatic personal histories of late Habsburg Spain. The work combines the sharp observations of a cultural outsider with embedded romantic novellas told by the colorful travellers she meets. It has endured as both a captivating literary piece and a crucial historical window into the stark realities, rigid codes of honor, and vibrant daily lives of the era.

The Story

The narrative opens in February 1679 as the narrator crosses the Bidassoa River from France into Biscay amid melting snows and rising waters. As she sets out toward Madrid, the early leg of her trip immediately exposes her to the rugged conditions of the Spanish countryside: treacherous mountain paths, miserable inns, unpredictable weather, and regions infested with bandoleros (highway robbers). Despite these hardships, she approaches her travels with keen curiosity, noting the poverty of the lower classes, the influence of superstition and the Inquisition, and the distinct regional identities of the places she passes through, from Biscay and Castille to Arragon and Galicia.

Along the way, the journey progresses not just through physical space, but through a rich tapestry of human stories. Whenever the narrator halts at an inn or is delayed by heavy snowfalls, she mingles with local nobles, grandees, and fellow travellers who share their elaborate life histories. Early on, she is joined by Don Fernand, a refined Spanish cavalier whose politeness and command of language offer both protection against bad-tempered muleteers and an entry into aristocratic society. Through him and other companions, the narrative branches into several dramatic subplots.

In one stopover, she witnesses the plight of two young women trapped in an ill-fated romance and locked in a room by their ruthless uncle, Don Diego. In another, she listens to the backstory of a wealthy nobleman who abandoned his estate to live as a dirt-poor hermit high on Mount Dragon, driven to asceticism after a tragic tale of jealousy, duel, and revenge involving the Marchioness de Barbaran. In additional letters, informants recount royal court gossip, such as the origins of Don John d'Austria—the illegitimate son of Philip IV and the actress Maria Calderona—and details regarding the young King’s passionate courtship via miniature portraits. Later, she meets Donna Mariana, the Marchioness de Los Rios, who recounts her agonizing past: to save her true love, Mendez, from captivity under a Moorish corsair named Meluza, she disguised herself in a slave’s habit and offered her own freedom as a hostage.

The travelogue culminates near Lerma after the narrator survives the dangerous crossing of the Sierra de Cogollos mountains. Stranded by three days of relentless snowfall, she passes the time in deep conversation and card games with the charming Marchioness. Receiving word that an express courier is leaving for France that night, she brings her lengthy dispatch to a close, promising to continue her observations once she reaches her final destination.

How It Unfolds

The voyage begins Crossing the swollen Bidassoa River by boat and swimming mules, the narrator enters Biscay by moonlight, noting the strict border tolls, the rich iron mines, and the unique language of the locals.

An unexpected escort At an inn, the narrator meets Don Fernand, a polite Spanish gentleman newly arrived post-haste from Brussels, who joins her caravan to help manage the rough, unyielding muleteers.

Eavesdropping and family drama Overhearing two distressed sisters in an adjoining room, the narrator learns of their secret romance and helps mediate when their uncle, Don Diego, apprehends the lovers and locks them up as criminals.

The hermit of Mount Dragon Through Don Fernand and his noble companions, the narrator meets a penitent hermit and hears his backstory: former lover Don Lewis gave up his immense wealth to live in a snowy cave after a violent jealous tragedy involving the Marchioness de Barbaran.

Tales of the court and national character During a pause in the journey, a well-informed companion details the secret origins of Don John d'Austria and outlines the Spanish character, describing the people as proud, grave, deeply religious, and fiercely passionate.

Marvels of the landscape The travelogue pauses to survey regional wonders, including the crystalline salt mines of Mengraville, the Roman aqueduct of Segovia, and the wealthy pilgrimage destination of St. James de Compostella in Galicia.

Widows and outlaws The narrator examines the strict customs surrounding women, observing the austere, monastic mourning attire forced upon young widows, while also hearing tales of fierce bandoleros who kidnap noblewomen to keep in mountain caves.

Mariana’s sacrifice Stuck at an inn, the narrator listens to the harrowing tale of Donna Mariana, who disguised herself as a slave and traded her liberty to a corsair to free her captive lover, Mendez.

Snowbound at Lerma After navigating the dangerous Sierra de Cogollos mountains, heavy snow halts the caravan at Lerma, prompting three days of gambling and storytelling before the narrator sends off her letter via an express courier.

The People

• The Narrator (Madame d'Aulnoy): A cultured, highly observant French noblewoman travelling to Madrid. She seeks to record an accurate, firsthand account of Spanish society, resisting the urge to embellish while remaining intensely curious about local customs, court gossip, and romantic tragedies.
• Don Fernand de Toledo: A refined Spanish cavalier who speaks fluent French and joins the narrator's train. He wants to assist the narrator on her journey and acts as her primary guide to the intricate social structures, geography, and heroic backstories of Spain.
• Don Diego: A stern, vengeful uncle who intercepts his relatives' clandestine romance. He acts as the main obstacle to the young lovers, treating them as criminals and locking them away to uphold family control.
• Don Lewis: A former nobleman transformed by tragic grief and Divine Grace. Once driven by revenge against his rival, the Marquess de Barbaran, he sells his entire estate to give to the poor and spends his life begging for alms as a hermit buried under the winter snows of Mount Dragon.
• Maria Calderona: A celebrated theater actress loved by both the Duke de Medina and King Philip IV. Caught between royal desire and her true attachment to the Duke, her story illustrates the hidden motives behind the birth of Don John d'Austria.
• Donna Mariana (Marchioness de Los Rios): A remarkably beautiful woman whose deep love for Mendez drives her to extreme measures. When Mendez is captured by pirates, she willingly traded her jewels and submitted to wearing a slave's habit under the corsair Meluza to secure his release.

In Its Own Voice

Before her journey even begins to unfold in full, the author establishes her absolute commitment to truth over romanticized fabrication.

"I write nothing but what I have seen, or heard from Persons of Unquestionable Credit; And therefore shall conclude with assuring you, That you have here no Novel, or Story, devised at pleasure; but an Exact and most True Account of what I met with in my Travels."

As she moves across the frontier, she captures the severe landscape and the hardiness required to navigate it.

"This Country call’d Biscaye, is full of high Mountains, where are several Iron Mines: The Biscays climb up the Rocks as easily, and with as great swiftness as Stags..."

She also turns a sharp eye onto the rigid cultural expectations placed upon women, such as the suffocating social requirements for mourning widows.

"I was inform’d they pass the first Year of their Mourning in a Chamber hung with Black, wherein there is not the least glimmering of Day-light to be seen; they sit cross-legg’d on a little Holland-Quilt."

What It's Really About

At its core, the text explores the tension between external formality and hidden, passionate interior lives. The author contrasts the rigid, honor-bound architecture of Spanish society—its strict Inquisition, austere mourning customs for women, and elaborate court etiquette—with the volatile romantic passions and desperate acts that take place behind closed doors.

It is also an inquiry into national identity and the realities of a declining empire. Through her discussions with native nobles, the narrator contrasts Spain's grand historical reputation, magnificent Roman infrastructure, and deep religious devotion against its impoverished peasantry, mountain banditry, and economic struggles. Ultimately, the book uses the frame of a journey to ask how culture, religion, and regional geography shape human conduct and moral codes.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy historical travel writing, literary epistolary forms, or seventeenth-century social histories will find this account immensely rewarding. It feels like leaning in to listen to a sharp, humorous, and uncommonly perceptive companion who is just as interested in regional salt mines and aqueducts as she is in high-stakes romance and political gossip. The book offers a rare, intimate perspective on early modern Spain from a woman who balances critical detachment with genuine fascination.

The reading experience requires some patience. Readers must navigate historical spelling variations, lengthy embedded digressions that temporarily pause the travel narrative, and period attitudes regarding religious faith, class structures, and public execution. However, these difficulties are easily outweighed by the richness of the detail. What stays with you long after reading is the atmospheric vividness of the trip—the howling mountain snows, the dimly lit inn chambers separated by thin boards, and the incredible, larger-than-life stories told by strangers seeking warmth around a fire.