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On the day of the

of Javiera Fernández and Mariana García, convicted of murdering

his wife,

, the newspapers reported in great detail the gruesome story of the

. The chronicle was published along with the column of the outrage of the day (the trams were causing havoc), the political chronicle and the last party of the Duchess or Marchioness on duty. Between

the Madrid aristocrats threw the palace out the window and

It was by chance, in the search for documentation on the execution of Doña Narcisa's maids, that

came

across

Madrid's social chronicle of the late 19th century, so opulent and fascinating that

. Pharmacist, criminologist and writer, Donis is the author of several books of crimes, especially committed by women, (

, from La Esfera de los Libros, is her

) but has ended up publishing

(Ed. Turner), the

The book, full of

of the great Spanish families, opens the doors of Madrid's palaces to narrate

, how they received their children's weddings at home,

who were its protagonists .

It has not been easy, Donis confesses to LOC, who has been going through all the archives of the capital since 2016 and diving among files tied with ropes to unravel the secrets of the

, the Countess of Montijo , Emilia Pardo Bazán ... All of them stroll through

where their

play a prominent role

. Writers such as

(

) or

, Alfredo Escobar (father of Luis Escobar) or

, could

"They had enormous power,

. If they were not cited in the chronicles, it is over," says the author. And, although from time to time an envelope was put into their jacket, the chroniclers did not allow themselves to be bought just like that. "They won well and hated the careerists. It is true that they adorned the texts with a lot of adjectives, especially for the more senior ladies, but they also threw darts. Valera, for example,

, and he spoke of the

. Donis also maintains that he was the forerunner of the style of Jaime Peñafiel, "the last true social chronicler," he highlights.

"Valera began to use initials to relate a case of adultery. He could not reveal the names, although he gave so much information that the alleged cuckold threatened to challenge him to a duel.

One of the theaters of Merceditas Cejuela, 'La Cenicienta'.

She appears dressed as a prince in the center of the image.

Among the hosts Donis stands out as her favorites

. The first is the

, the wife of Simeón of Bulgaria, who organized a memorable children's parties. "Merceditas was a

. She was an only child, a very spoiled but very clever and esthete girl, she did not perform eccentricities. She organized theater performances, costume exhibitions of her dolls ... The chroniclers adored her and chased her like the

"she says. Mercedes cut her ringlets and married Manuel Gómez-Acebo in 1929. They both

a month after the outbreak of the Civil War on his family farm.

She was 32 years old.

Gloria Laguna, Carolina Carvajal, the Marquis of Bayamo and other guests at a theatrical evening.

Gloria Laguna, Countess of Requena

, is another of the author's favorites, "a real discovery", she assures. The chroniclers predicted a brilliant future as a

the daughter of the Marquises of La Laguna

. She was rather ugly - "in fact, very few were pretty, they

" says Donis - but very intelligent and funny. Laguna was a lesbian and did not hide it, although she was married. "She was part of the group of

From the Royal box she went on a revelry to the underworld of Madrid with

who was beautiful. She was also a

that put her in the Athenaeum. "The chronicles said that she smoked like a highway.

The third is

, friend of Queen Victoria Eugenia and the

of Miguel Primo de Rivera

.

"He, who was a widower, did not want to make the relationship public, but it was the talk of Madrid. The journalist César González Ruano stood at Nini's house one day and asked her if they were going to get married. The exclusive was on the cover of the magazine

but the wedding broke.

as soon as he saw the publication, but she, despite the scandal, continued with her life. She was an independent woman, much richer than him. She ended up married to a military man.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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